The Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee has just signed a document reporting to the Prime Minister on a plan to remove obstacles in implementing the project to solve flooding caused by tides in the Ho Chi Minh City area, taking into account climate change factors, phase 1 (tide prevention project).

This flood prevention project is invested by Trung Nam Construction Investment Joint Stock Company, implemented by Trung Nam BT 1547 Company Limited. The total investment of the project is nearly 10,000 billion VND in the form of public-private partnership (PPP), build-transfer (BT) contract.

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The tidal flood prevention project in Ho Chi Minh City has yet to reach its completion after more than 9 years of construction. Photo: Hoang Giam

In the report sent to the Prime Minister, the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee pointed out 3 major difficulties and problems that still exist in the process of implementing the tidal dam project. These difficulties and problems need to be considered and resolved by the Government leaders.

The first problem is that the authority and implementation procedures for projects that are in the process of being implemented have not been clearly defined. The changes lead to the project falling under the criteria of national importance.

According to the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee, the project during implementation is likely to arise, leading to the total investment exceeding VND10,000 billion. Currently, the Law on Public Investment and the Law on Investment under the Public-Private Partnership method do not have regulations on the authority to decide on adjusting the investment policy of a project in the process of implementation that has changed.

The second problem is related to the mobilization of capital to complete the project, stemming from the fact that BIDV Bank does not have enough basis to sign an appendix to the credit contract with Trung Nam BT 1547 Company Limited. Therefore, BIDV Bank cannot submit to the State Bank of Vietnam to extend the time for re-lending disbursement.

To overcome this difficulty, the HCMC People's Committee proposed to consider adjusting the payment plan of the signed BT contract in the direction of paying the investor in advance with land funds, corresponding to the value of the BT project completed according to schedule. The difference will be paid in cash to ensure compliance with the regulations at the time of signing the contract.

Finally, there is the difficulty related to the lack of a basis for payment of BT contracts.

The People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City pointed out the reason because the project is a transitional case according to the provisions of the Law on Investment under the public-private partnership method, stuck with Resolution No. 98 of the National Assembly and Decree No. 35 of the Government.

To resolve this final difficulty, the city proposes to adjust the payment terms in the contract in parallel with the overall adjustment of the project.

The above proposed plans have been submitted by the Party Committee of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee, requested for opinions and approved by the Standing Committee of the City Party Committee.

This tidal prevention project started in June 2016 with a total investment of nearly 10,000 billion VND. The purpose of the project is to control flooding caused by high tides and proactively respond to climate change for an area of ​​570 km2 with about 6.5 million people in the right bank of the Saigon River and the center of Ho Chi Minh City.

The project was initially expected to be completed after 2 years of construction, including the construction of 6 large tide control sluices with widths ranging from 40-160m, 3 pumping stations and 7.8 km of dykes/embankments along the Saigon River from Vam Thuat to Kinh River in vulnerable sections...

However, up to now, after more than 9 years of construction, the project has not been able to reach the finish line, currently reaching 90% of the workload. Of which, Ben Nghe culvert items reached 97%, Tan Thuan culvert reached 93%, Phu Xuan culvert reached 90%, Muong Chuoi culvert reached 93%, Cay Kho culvert reached 86%, Phu Dinh culvert reached 88%, and the embankment line reached 85%.

The 10,000 billion VND flood prevention project will be completed after 8 months if obstacles are removed.

The 10,000 billion VND flood prevention project will be completed after 8 months if obstacles are removed.

The 10,000 billion VND flood prevention project, although over 90% completed, had to stop construction due to difficulties in payment capital.
Ho Chi Minh City Secretary talks about the progress of the 10 trillion VND flood prevention project

Ho Chi Minh City Secretary talks about the progress of the 10 trillion VND flood prevention project

Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Nguyen Van Nen said that the flood prevention project will be put into operation as planned by the end of this year, but there is no specific time frame for when it will be completed. The Standing Committee will be more drastic in inspecting and supervising the project.
To prevent flooding in Ho Chi Minh City, the Department of Construction proposed spending 4.3 billion USD in 5 years.

To prevent flooding in Ho Chi Minh City, the Department of Construction proposed spending 4.3 billion USD in 5 years.

To solve the problem of flooding in Ho Chi Minh City in the period of 2021-2025, the Department of Construction proposed spending 4.3 billion USD to carry out a series of projects.