HCM City plans to have its first modern bus rapid transit system to beready by the end of 2018, according to the official entrusted withsetting it up.

Luong Minh Phuc, Head of the HCM City Urban CivilWorks Construction Investment Management Authority (UCCI), which willdevelop the first BRT, said by the end of next year his agency wouldcomplete a detailed design, offer bids for contracts and work with localauthorities to acquire land.

Work on the first line is scheduled to begin in early 2017, he said.

Recentlythe World Bank's Board of Executive Directors approved a 124 millionUSD plan to improve the performance and efficiency of public transportin the city.

The bank is funding a project to develop BRT systems in three major cities: HCM City, Hanoi, and Da Nang.

HCMCity's first line will be on the Vo Van Kiet-Mai Chi Tho highway,connecting An Lac intersection in Binh Tan district and Rach Chiec inDistrict 2, a distance of 28 kilometres, and have 28 stations.

It will be able to transport 28,300 passengers a day.

Itsdesign will factor in the needs of women, children and people withdisabilities, comprising features like keeping bus and station floors atthe same level so that passengers can board and alight and loadstrollers easily.

The project will also fund at least 28 buses running on compressed natural gas (CNG), a clean fuel.

Theproject will cost $137.45 million, which will include a loan of 124million USD from the World Bank. The rest will be provided by theGovernment.

HCM City is also working on five other BRT lines that will complete the public transport system, according to UCCI.-VNA