VIETNAM’s prime minister, Le Minh Hung, attended a groundbreaking ceremony in Hanoi on June 22 for the construction of five new metro lines totalling 292km and three large rental housing projects. This is the largest infrastructure and social welfare project ever undertaken in Hanoi.
A consortium of Vinhomes and VinSpeed High-Speed Railway Investment and Development has been selected by Hanoi Metropolitan Railway Management Board as the engineering, procurement, and construction general contractor for the five new lines. According to the government, the metro projects are linked to urban development following the Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) model, with a total investment of more than Dong 1.3 trillion ($US 49.5bn).
The project will expand development along north-south and east-west corridors and connect Noi Bai Airport and Hanoi mainline station with new growth areas such as Hoa Lac, Thu Lam, Co Loa and Gia Lam.
The government says this is an important first step in Hanoi's roadmap for developing a modern transport network to reduce congestion and use land resources more efficiently, while stimulating growth up to 2030.
The five new metro lines comprise:
- Line 1 (81km) running entirely underground, the line will connect Hung Vuong Stadium, Ngoc Hoi, Hanoi mainline station, Yen Vien and Noi Bai
- Line 2 (56.5km) connecting Noi Bai Airport with the Tran Hung Dao, the Thuong Dinh area and Hung Vuong Stadium. Construction of the initial 11km section from Nam Thăng Long south to Tran Hung Dao started in October 2025 and is expected to open in 2029
- Line 8 (91km) running from Hoa Lac via Son Dong, Mai Dich and Ring Road 3 to Linh Nam-Duong Xa
- Line 10 (43km) will link Co Loa, Vo Chi Cong, Ring Road 3, Ring Road 2.5 and Times City to Co Loa, and
- Line 14 (32km) will run from Thang Long Bridge to Ocean Park.
Construction of the five new metro lines will take place simultaneously, which will be a fundamental shift in the city's approach to transport infrastructure investment. It is hoped the new policy will shorten the construction time considerably.
Hanoi’s 100-year Master Plan envisages development based on a multi-centre model to distribute people, jobs and socio-economic activities rationally, exploit resources more effectively and create new growth drivers for the city.
Hanoi Metro currently comprises two unconnected lines. The 13km elevated Line 2A runs south from Cat Linh in the city centre to Yen Nghia. Line 3 is 7.8km long and runs northwest from Cau Giay to Nhon and is being extended east from Cau Giay via Cat Linh to Hanoi mainline station.
Preliminary works started in December 2025 on the 38km Line 5 running from Van Cao to Hoa Lac. Hanoi Metro eventually plans to have a 14-line metro network.
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