Ho Chi Minh City Vice Chairman Tran Vinh Tuyen said the authorities show an aggressive approach to illegal encroachment of thousands of households along canals to deal with the city’s flooding problem.
Ho Chi Minh City Vice Chairman Tran Vinh Tuyen (second from the right)
inspects problems in Nha Be District
On September 14, Vice Chairman Tran Vinh Tuyen led an inspection team to District 7 and Nha Be District. He said the local authorities must be strict and make individuals and organisations return the encroached areas. "We can't let personal interests flood the city," he said.
District 7 People's Committee was urged to build and submit a ground clearance plan so that the city can arrange the capital. New and recent cases must be dealt with immediately to be a deterrent for other people. "The city has over 20,000 encroached buildings on canals in which 2,200 cases are in District 7 and 10,000 in District 8," he said.
Tuyen said the city had planned to relocate 20,000 households and restore the canals to their original sizes within five years. Currently, there are five projects to repair and upgrade the drainage system. Three of which have entered their second phase and will be allocated VND6 trillion (USD269 million).
"I proposed that two other projects that are still being prepared should be implemented quickly too," Tuyen said.
It is estimated that the city would need VND1,000 trillion (USD44.84 billion) to develop the infrastructure until 2025. HCM City will call for private sector investment along with the city budget to cover the cost.
At least 47 places in the city are usually flooded after one heavy rain and the flooding is getting worse because much of the drainage system has been encroached upon. HCM City Chairman Nguyen Thanh Phong asked four of his vice-chairmen to conduct field surveys to find solutions this September.
