HCMC mulls underground shopping

HO CHI MINH CITY  Construction on an underground shopping mall in Ho Chi Minh City will begin this year, but it will take an estimated eight years to complete as part of a wider project to give the city a subway transport system..
Tuoi Tre media reported the underground trade centre will be constructed alongside the Ben Thanh Terminal, which will be the central terminal for a subway system in the southern metropolis.
Passengers will be able to board metro trains on three separate routes to Suoi Tien in District 9, Tham Luong in District 12, and the Western Bus Station in Binh Tan District. The project is underway but will not be fully operational until 2023.
inside no 5Construction of the 19.7-km Ben Thanh – Suoi Tien or No 1 route, and the construction of the Ben Thanh Terminal and the underground shopping centre should start this year.
The 60-metre-wide shopping area will cover 700 metres underground from the 23/9 Park to the Municipal Theatre at a depth of three metres under Le Loi Street.
An underground walking street connecting Nguyen Hue pedestrian street is slated for inauguration by the end of this month, when Vietnam celebrates its 40th anniversary of reunification.
However, the underground trade centre requires a huge investment estimated at USD326.22 million. So far the project has attracted just one interested investor from Japan.

sourced:traveldailynews.asia