The loan was approved by the Asian Development Bank's (ADB) Board of Directors on March 29.
A recent survey showed that nine out of ten people in Hanoi use private vehicles and as the population is estimated to increase from six to eight million by 2025 this will threaten the environment and the city’s development.
'The metro is essential to Hanoi's future', said ADB’s Principal Transport Specialist for Southeast Asia, Robert Valkovic and he added that “If Hanoi doesn’t develop quality, high-volume public transportation systems the city will slowly grind to a standstill over the next decade'.
Over 150,000 passengers per day are expected to use the metro when it is completed in 2015 and this number will rise to almost 500,000 per day by 2030.
The railway which is expected to cost US$1 billion is one of four prioritised metro lines in the Hanoi inner city.
