In response to increasing population, Ho Chi Minh City authorities have spared no effort in lightening the public mood with improved living standards and urban scenery.

As more and more residents settle in the southern hub, particularly workers and students, there has been a surging demand for affordable accommodation.

Between 2011 and 2014, 6,000 apartments from 20 social housing projects across the city became available. In 2015, another 3,500 apartments will enter the market.

HCM City has provided 12,800 low-priced rental houses for workers inside industrial parks since 2011 and targets to offer another 25,000 this year.

Meanwhile, local resettlement programmes have been actively launched to help resettled households for the sake of infrastructure construction to normalise as soon as possible.

As an integral part of the hub, modern homes like the Phu My Hung urban area are rapidly expanding.

By 2020, the city plans to upgrade 47 apartment blocks that currently accommodate 5,200 families; build 50,000 dormitories, 100,000 rental houses for workers and 10,000 social housing projects; and resettle 7,000 households.

The Tan Hoa-Lo Gom and Nhieu Loc-Thi Nghe canals—once riddled with murky water, rampant garbage, and a foul odour—are now immaculate and green.

The long-pressing issue of slums encroaching on the sides of canals has been addressed effectively with 11,000 of 15,000 households from the disadvantaged locations relocated by the end of 2014.-VNA