According to the board director Bui Xuan Cuong, the project was kicked off in August 2012, but to date, just 62 percent of the work has been completed. This has been attributed to some problems such as slow site clearance and lack of capital. 

Ben Thanh-Suoi Tien metro project 

He added that the board and concerned agencies will try to deal with the problems so that around 80% of the project would be finished by the end of this year. He also noted that the project would be piloted by October 2020 at the latest.

The first metro line in HCM City, which stretches nearly 20km from Ben Thanh Market in District 1 and Suoi Tien Theme Park in District 9 has been delayed several times.

The project needs a total investment of some VND28 trillion for the 2016-2020 period. However, the Ministry of Planning and Investment can only allocate VND7.5 trillion (USD319.65 million) to the project, in line with its mid-term public investment plan. To ensure progress, the city has advanced the budget to pay a total of VND2.3 trillion (USD98.02 million) for construction contractors.