On March 24, people traveling on many central streets of Ho Chi Minh City were surprised to see a series of lush green trees being cut down or having their foliage trimmed by the management unit.

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Many ironwood trees on the sidewalk of Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Street, passing through Tao Dan Park, were cut down. Photo: TK.

On Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Street, in front of Tao Dan Park and the Ho Chi Minh City Labor Culture Palace, there are nearly 20 lim xet (golden phoenix) trees that are 20-30 years old with damaged roots and have been cut down or trimmed by tree workers.

The tree trunk was then sawn into short pieces and piled on the sidewalk.

According to observations, along Nguyen Thi Minh Khai street, there is a sidewalk renovation project with many motor vehicles and granite paving bricks being gathered. The construction units have scraped the sidewalk, preparing to pave the stone, exposing many roots at the base of the broken trees.

The same situation is also happening on streets in District 1 such as Phung Khac Khoan, Ton That Dam, Cach Mang Thang Tam, Nguyen Trung Truc, Pasteur, Nam Ky Khoi Nghia, Bui Thi Xuan, Suong Nguyet Anh… There are sidewalk renovation projects in these places and the tree roots are scratched or broken during the construction process.

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Construction units gather vehicles to scrape the road and prepare for paving. Photo: TK.

According to the Ho Chi Minh City Green Parks and Trees Company, the unit has recorded many trees being affected during the sidewalk upgrade construction in District 1. During the construction process, some contractors used mechanical equipment to demolish and scrape the ground, causing roots to break or damage the trees and even posing a risk to the safety of the tree system on the sidewalks.

To ensure safety, the Company was forced to come up with a plan to cut down or prune tree branches. On Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Street alone, 9 trees were cut down, and the upper canopy of 8 other trees was trimmed.

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Trees in front of the Labor Culture Palace were also cut down. Photo: TK.
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Some trees had their tops trimmed to ensure safety due to damaged roots. Photo: TK.

Investors speak up

According to VietNamNet, the central area of ​​Ho Chi Minh City is implementing many sidewalk renovation projects with main items such as paving granite, renewing curbs, replacing manhole covers...

The representative of the District 1 Construction Investment Project Management Board (investor) said that during the construction process, the Board regularly inspected, reminded and issued corrective documents, requiring the construction unit to strictly comply with not encroaching on existing trees and flower beds.

According to the investor, the renovation process inevitably affects some small tree roots when they grow horizontally on the sidewalk, although this is not a common case. However, it is not 100% accurate to say that trees had to be cut down due to sidewalk construction.

"During the construction process, the construction unit broke some small roots and sub-roots on the surface, not the main roots of the tree, in small numbers," the investor said.

To address the above issues, the District 1 Construction Investment Project Management Board said it will coordinate with the Ho Chi Minh City Green Parks and Trees Company Limited to strengthen inspection and discipline contractors. In case of repeated damage to trees, construction will be temporarily suspended.

At the end of June 2024, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, will implement a project to renovate about 80 sidewalks and upgrade many alleys to create aesthetics and ensure traffic safety. The project has a total capital of nearly 220 billion VND, invested by the District 1 Construction Investment Project Management Board.

In 2025, District 1 will continue to renovate 37 more sidewalks and 15 alleys with an estimated cost of more than 400 billion VND.

Central districts of Ho Chi Minh City simultaneously renovated nearly 80 sidewalks and alleys.

Central districts of Ho Chi Minh City simultaneously renovated nearly 80 sidewalks and alleys.

12 sidewalks and 64 alleys in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City that were degraded were renovated and paved with granite at a cost of nearly 220 billion VND to create beauty and ensure traffic safety.
The first district in Ho Chi Minh City is preparing to pilot 'renting' sidewalks on 11 streets.

The first district in Ho Chi Minh City is preparing to pilot 'renting' sidewalks on 11 streets.

The People's Committee of District 1, Ho Chi Minh City has just planned to pilot the use of a part of the sidewalk that meets the conditions as a business location for services, buying and selling goods in the area.
List of streets with the most sidewalk rentals in Ho Chi Minh City after two weeks of piloting

List of streets with the most sidewalk rentals in Ho Chi Minh City after two weeks of piloting

During the two-week pilot program to collect fees for temporary use of a portion of the sidewalk, the central district of Ho Chi Minh City received 180 cases of people registering to rent, with an estimated cost of nearly 750 million VND.