Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) is the largest metropolitan area in Vietnam, with approximately 8 million residents. The city is currently constructing a metro system as an alternative to its previous reliance on buses in an attempt to increase the use of public transport from 5% of journeys that take place in the city.

The metro project will have six lines. Line 1 of the project is 19.7km long and consists of a 2.6km-long underground section and a 17.1km elevated section. Line 1 will connect Ben Thanh Market in the central area to the amusement park at Suoi Tien in District 9. The line goes underground from Station 1 at Quach Thi Trang Roundabout area in Ben Thanh Market. It consists of two horizontally aligned two tunnels. After Station 3 at Ba Son the line shifts from underground to elevated. The underground section has a total of three underground stations. Line 1 also consists of a crossing at Saigon River.

A contract for the construction of the first stage of Ho Chi Minh City metro line 1 was signed on May 16, 2012 paving the way for main works to begin the following September.

Line 2 of the project will be 10.18km long and will run between Ben Thanh Market and Tham Luong. Line 2 will contain 11 stations. Line 3 will be 10.4km long and will run between Ben Thanh Market and Bin Tan District.

Line 4 will be 16km long and will begin from Lang Cha Ca traffic circle and end at Van Thanh Park in Binh Thanh district. Line 5 will span 17km between Can Giuoc Bus Station in District 8 and Thu Thiem New Urban Town in District 2. The route for Line 6 will be 6km long and run between Ba Queo in Tan Binh District and Phu Lam in District 6.

The construction of Metro line 2 began in August 2010 and is planned to be completed by 2015, with commercial services scheduled to commence in 2016. The funding is partly from the government and loans from the Overseas Development Administration, Asian Development Bank and European Investment Bank.