A commercial centre in the underground portion in Tokyo. — VNS Photo Nguyen Manh Ha

HCM CITY (Biz Hub) — A Japanese firm is exploring opportunities to develop a commercial centre in the underground portion of HCM City's metro Line No 1 near Ben Thanh Market.

The plan was discussed during a meeting between Japanese Deputy Minister for Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Kisaburo Ishii and Nguyen Huu Tin, deputy chairman of the city People's Committee on Wednesday.

Ishii is quoted by Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper as saying that a company called Toshin Development was keen and would like to speed up the investment process.

A model of the commercial centre was displayed at the meeting.

On May 28 the firm had submitted its design for the Ben Thanh Commercial Centre to the People's Committee, Ishii said.

This was an important project, a "landmark" in the development of HCM City, which would earn a lot of revenue from it, he said.

It will be a big-ticket project, and the Japanese investor is expected to fund it with loans.

Ishii said his government could consider providing official development assistance (ODA) loans for it.

It takes ten to eleven years to refund construction costs for this project, Ishii added. — VNS