Two months ago, when the construction site for an underground metro station in front of Ben Thanh Market, an icon of Ho Chi Minh City in District 1, was removed, work has gotten underway to return the public space to the metropolis. As scheduled, the clear premises will be handed back to the city late this month.
In 2017, the Quach Thi Trang Roundabout in front of the market was demolished to build the Ben Thanh station of the metro line No.1.
Quach Thi Trang Roundabout in 2014.
The HCMC Department of Planning and Architecture had in July suggested building a public square in front of Ben Thanh Market once the metro construction site is cleared.
It will have a park where the statues of Quach Thi Trang, a student who died in a protest against the Saigon regime during the Vietnam War, and Tran Nguyen Han, a military expert who helped Vietnam ward off Chinese invasions in the 15th century, will be reinstalled.
In 2017 when the roundabout was dismantled, the two statues that had been there were removed and installed elsewhere in the city.
The lighting system, a bus station and gas station on the side of Tran Hung Dao Street will be recovered.
The bus station near Ben Thanh Market in 2017.
As agreed with the city, the metro's line investor, the HCMC Management Authority for Urban Railways (MAUR), will return all items affected by the construction of the station to their original locations.
A welder disassembles a metal pillar to take down the barrier, which has blocked the way from Pham Ngu Lao Street to Ben Thanh Market.
At the intersection of Huynh Thuc Khang and Ham Nghi streets, work is still underway to build the entry to the Ben Thanh station, one of the three underground stations of HCMC’s metro line No.1.
A part of Ben Thanh Station next to the September 23rd Park is still under construction.
The four-story station goes 32 meters below ground and is 236 meters long and 60 meters wide.
It will be the most important of three underground stations on the route, and will also serve as an interchange with lines No. 2, 3 and 4 when they are built.
The other two underground stations of the line are the Opera House station in front of the Opera House and the Ba Son, which is close to the Saigon River.
A map of the metro line No.1, which will run 19.7 km between Ben Thanh Market in District 1 and Long Binh Depot in Thu Duc City.
Set to cost over VND43.7 trillion (US$1.89 billion), the line is now 93% complete and is expected to enter service in the fourth quarter of next year.
Graphics by Hoang Khanh
A glimpse of Saigon metro stations, April 2022. Video by VnExpress/Tuan Viet
