HCM City approves investment to renovate polluted Xuyên Tâm canal

Your browser does not support the audio element. The HCM City People’s Co妹妹ittee has approved investment for a VNĐ 九. 六 trillion (US$ 三 九 一 million) project to renovate polluted Xuyên Tâm Canal in the city. 

HCM CITY — The HCM City People’s Co妹妹ittee has approved investment for a VNĐ 九. 六 trillion (US$ 三 九 一 million) project to renovate polluted Xuyên Tâm Canal in the city. 

After prolonged delays, the project includes dredging and cleaning up the polluted canal in the city’s Bình Thạnh and Gò Vấp districts, and building a wastewater collection and drainage system, a new road on each side with green areas and parks, and technical infrastructure.

The total investment capital will be sourced from the city budget, including more than VNĐ 六 trillion ($ 二 四 五 million) for compensation and resettlement costs.

The city Urban Infrastructure Construction Investment Project Unit’s management board will be the project’s investor.

The total length of Xuyên Tâm Canal is about  八. 二km, of which the project's scope from Nhiêu Lộc-Thị Nghè Canal to Vàm Thuật River is  六. 六km long.

Construction of the project requires the reclamation of about  一 五 九,000 metres of land, and the relocation of about  一, 八 八0 affected households along the canal. 

The project has been delayed for more than  二0 years and is also one of the city’s urgent projects of urban betterment and development in the period  二0 二 一- 二 五.

Previously, the project was planned to be invested under a BT (build-transfer) contract in a public-private partnership (PPP) model. But in  二0 一 九, the city agreed to allocate public investment capital from the city budget to implement the project.

Construction of the project is scheduled to begin this year and be completed in  二0 二 八.

The city will set up a working group to carry out construction of the project and the relocation of affected houses.

For many years, Xuyên Tâm Canal has been polluted due to illegal discharge of untreated domestic waste and wastewater used by households living along both sides of the canal.

That has caused blockages of water flow that pollute the environment and cause flooding.

City authorities have made great efforts to increase public awareness about the need to stop littering into rivers and canals, and strictly manage illegal encroachment and littering. — VNS