Many times we don't know where the 'river and road' are, the 10,000 billion flood prevention project is still silent.

On the afternoon of October 10, Chairman of the City People's Committee Phan Van Mai and the Ho Chi Minh City National Assembly Delegation met with voters of District 4, District 7 and Nha Be District.

Referring to the flooding problem in the locality, voter Nguyen Van Binh reflected that during high tide season, Tran Xuan Soan Street is sometimes indistinguishable from river to road.

nguyenxuanbinh 1.jpg — Voter Nguyen Van Binh raised the flooding situation at the voter meeting.

On Huynh Tan Phat street, every time it rains heavily, the water is up to the knees, making it very difficult for people to move.

"I would like to ask, the city's 10,000 billion VND flood prevention project has been implemented for many years but has not been completed. A few years ago, I heard that the project was restarted but until now it has remained silent. We request that delegates clarify whether the project will continue and if it does, when will it be completed?", Mr. Binh asked.

Talking to voters about this project, Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee Phan Van Mai said that this is one of the projects facing major problems and the city has also put a lot of effort into resolving it.

He said the project was stopped, restarted and continued to stop because the investor had financial difficulties. Up to now, the total volume of the project has reached over 90%, only 10% (about 1,800 billion) remains but the investor does not have enough finance to continue.

The city has proposed an early payment mechanism from the local government for investors to complete the project. However, because the project has not been completed for acceptance, there is no basis for payment.

The head of the city government informed that this year, the central and city budgets will invest more than 64,000 billion VND. The city will use 5,700 billion for flood prevention projects, and the projects that have not been completed cannot be paid.

Ho Chi Minh City Chairman Phan Van Mai answers voters

“Therefore, the city is asking for a mechanism to use a part of the 5,700 billion, associated with the volume that investors have completed (over 3,200 billion), then either lend or pay early so that investors can complete the project,” said Mr. Mai.

According to Mr. Mai, the investor said that if restarted, it will be completed in 6 months.

"We were like separated from the center because of traffic jams"

Regarding traffic, voters said that traffic jams and flooding are not "specialties" of Ho Chi Minh City alone, but are facing many other cities.

However, although the city has come up with many solutions, there have not been many changes, still directly affecting the lives of people in the most populous city in the country.

Some voters in District 7 said they felt the district was becoming separated from the city center because of frequent traffic jams. Every time they went from the district to the downtown area, there was a terrible traffic jam.

Voters question traffic jams and flooding

According to voter Le Ngoc Khanh (Nha Be district), the construction of the Nguyen Huu Tho-Nguyen Van Linh intersection is slow, causing frequent traffic jams.

The main roads of the district also have many traffic problems because trucks and containers often move at high intensity.

Voter Nguyen Xuan Binh (District 7) expressed that traffic jams and flooding are problems affecting the city's development and people's lives. Voters in District 7 also cited that every time they cross Khanh Hoi and Kenh Te bridges to enter the city center, they experience "terrible" traffic jams. In the area passing through Saigon Port, people also jostle each other during rush hour.

Talking to voters, Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee Phan Van Mai said that regarding the issue of connecting District 7 with the central area, the city is reviewing and adjusting the general planning, including the planning of the local traffic system. The adjustment is in the direction that District 7 will have many connecting channels with Thu Thiem area, Thu Duc City, Tan Son Nhat airport and the city center.

According to Mr. Mai, the master plan is being completed, but it still needs to be submitted to the competent authority. In the immediate future, the city is opening up connection directions in the form of metro and elevated roads.

"In the coming time, the city will focus on investing in and connecting transport infrastructure in the direction of connecting areas of the multi-center city model. The issue of population dispersion is also in the city's calculations in implementing this model," said Mr. Phan Van Mai.

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