be delayed for two years. Cost overrun, audits, and delayed payments to contractors contributed to the delay. The targeted completion date was set at 2020. Planners expect the route to serve more than 160,000 passengers daily upon launch, increasing to 635,000 by 2030 and 800,000 by 2040. All stations along the route are expected to accommodate the disabled, with automatic ticket vending machines, telephone booths, restrooms, subway doors and information bulletins accessible to the handicapped and visually impaired. On 28 January 2019, MAUR Director of Project Management Unit Duong Huu Hoa stated that as of December 2018, construction progress of Line 1 has reached 62%, below the target of 65%. The project has been criticised by the local press for its repeated delays. Construction of Line 2 was initially scheduled to begin in 2013, with operations beginning in 2018. However, on 13 September 2017, the local authorities have requested to the Prime Minister to push back the construction of the second line to 2020 with completion in 2024. In February 2020, the expected opening date for the first line was scheduled for the end of 2021. No reason was given for the delay. The estimated cost of the line has also ballooned from $1.3 billion to more than $2.1 billion. In December 2020, it was reported that one of the Elastomeric Laminated Bearing pads, which hold up the concrete beams of the viaducts for Line 1, had fallen off, causing one of the beams to be displaced and crack. Research on the incident is still being done by the contractor. In February 2021, first metro line completion line was pushed back to 2022. On 8 September 2021, the Management Authority for Urban Railways (MAUR) announced that Line 1 will be further delayed. Construction is now expected to be completed in late 2023, with commercial operations beginning in 2024. Lines The plan also includes 3 lines of tramway and monorail: See also Transport in Vietnam Hanoi Metro Footnotes Notes and references References Bibliography External links Management Authority for Urban Railways An updated map of the future Saigon Metro Ho Chi Minh at UrbanRail.net Metro Metro Rapid transit in Vietnam Underground rapid transit in Vietnam Proposed public transport in Asia