HCM City leaders on March 12 check the progress of the Tan Thuan sewage system, a multi-trillion VND flood-prevention project in District 7. (Photo: VNA) HCM City (VNA) – Secretary of the HCM City Party Committee Nguyen ThienNhan on March 12 conducted a field trip to inspect the progress of the flood preventionproject in the city.
He urgedthe parties concerned to make every effort to put the first phase of theproject, worth nearly 10 trillion VND (430.8 million USD), into operation inlate 2019.
“Thisproject plays a very important role in preventing flooding in a 570sq.m central area and along theSaigon River, an area with 6.5 million people,” Nhan said.
He asked six districts to speed upcompensation and site clearance so that land can be handed over to the investor– Nam Trung Group before the end of June.
Six tide-control gates at Ben Nghe, Tan Thuan,Phu Xuan, Muong Chuoi, Cay Kho and Phu Dinh, as well as flood control dykes,are being built in districts 1,4,7,8, Binh Chanh and Nha Be.
Begun in 2016, the project resumed in February after being suspended inApril last year.
NguyenTam Tien, CEO of Trung Nam Group, said the project had faced problems in thedisbursement of loans and land clearance. “If the city hands over land for theproject in June, we pledge to complete the project by the end of this year. Itis already 72 percent complete.”
Representatives of the six districts promised to hand over the land to theinvestor in June.
TranVinh Tuyen, Vice Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee, said thedistricts should collect the land for the investor before June 30. “If notcompleted, the heads of localities must be responsible to the city People’sCommittee.”
The municipal People’s Committee would work with the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV)to provide loan term extensions for the investor, he added.
The unit to operate and manage the project must have sufficient skills andtechnical qualifications, he said.
InJanuary next year, the city People’s Committee should hire a unit to operatethe project after it is completed.
The municipal Department of Construction has submitted a plan to the People’sCommittee to develop 218 anti-flooding projects this year, with totalinvestment of nearly 8 trillion VND (345 million USD). Of the figure, 77projects were carried over from last year.
This year, the city is also dredging rivers and canals, and repairing damagedsewer systems.-VNA
VNA
