HYUNDAI Rotem has signed a contract to supply driverless trains for Line 2 of the Ho Chi Minh City metro. The company’s first contract in Vietnam is worth approximately Won 491bn ($US 331.8m), according to Hyundai, which has released no further details.
The contract was signed in Hanoi on April 23 by Lee Yong-bae, president and CEO of Hyundai Rotem, and Tran Ba Duong, chairman of Thaco Group, the Vietnamese conglomerate that is building Line 2. Work began in January with a target opening date of 2030. To be built in three phases, the line will eventually be 64km long with 36 stations.
Hyundai Rotem also signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Thaco to supply signalling systems for Line 2, which according to the manufacturer would be the first time it has supplied signalling for driverless operation outside Korea.
The Korean manufacturer says it will contribute to the development of the domestic railway supply industry in Vietnam, in line with government policy, by producing some rolling stock at a factory to be built by Thaco. These would be the first electric trains to be built in Vietnam.
Hyundai Rotem and Thaco signed an agreement for local production of urban and high-speed rolling stock in 2025. Hyundai notes that the North-South Railway project to build a 1541km high-speed line between Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City will be Vietnam's largest-ever infrastructure project, worth approximately $US 67bn.
“By entering the Vietnamese railway market for the first time, we have expanded our business scope and established a meaningful foundation for local cooperation,” Hyundai Rotem says.
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