At the regular socio-economic press conference on the afternoon of June 27, Mr. To Van Lam - Deputy Head of the Urban Development Department, Ho Chi Minh City Department of Construction - said that the unit is consulting and developing a project "Pilot solution to help households with houses on and along canals to rent or rent-purchase social housing when the state implements the project of relocating houses on and along canals to renovate the urban area".

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People living on canals are still waiting for relocation projects. Photo: HT

According to Mr. Lam, currently, the city has mainly two types of houses: houses along canals built within the protection corridor and houses on canals. These are stilt houses on the water, with temporary structures, small areas and dilapidated because people encroached, mostly belonging to poor households.

The households living on and along the canals are mainly households without valid documents and illegal land and houses, so they are not eligible for resettlement and are not entitled to social housing policies according to the provisions of the Housing Law.

Therefore, according to Mr. Lam, the draft proposal proposes that people with houses on and along canals who do not meet resettlement conditions will be able to rent or rent-purchase social housing depending on their ability and needs, when the state reclaims land for urban renovation.

The 2024 Land Law is expected to take effect from August 1. Currently, the Department of Construction is coordinating with the Department of Natural Resources and Environment to identify and classify subjects and cases of houses on and along canals, and advise on compensation and resettlement support policies for these cases according to the provisions of the new Land Law.

According to the urban beautification plan for the 2021-2025 period, Ho Chi Minh City aims to relocate 6,500 houses on and along canals and ditches.

By the end of 2023, the city had compensated and relocated nearly 700/6,500 houses. It is expected that by the end of 2025, 4,250/6,500 houses will be compensated and relocated, reaching 65% of the set target.

According to the report of the Department of Construction, the medium and long-term solution is to implement key drainage projects in 2024-2025, including relocating houses along the canal.

Specifically, the project to build infrastructure and improve the environment of Tham Luong - Ben Cat - Nuoc Len canal will be accelerated and completed in 2025; the Xuyen Tam canal project (from Nhieu Loc - Thi Nghe canal to Vam Thuat river) will start construction in August this year in Go Vap district, completed in April 2025, then start construction in Binh Thanh district in April 2025.