Phu Huu Park recently opened in Thu Duc city providing new green space for locals (Photo sggp.org.vn) Under the plan, the city will add 450ha of public parks and 10ha of publicgreen space by 2025. By 2030, there will be one square metre of parks and3-4sq.m of general green space per capita.
Urban planning expert Dr. Pham Sanh said the main cause for a shortage of greenspace in the city is the lack of State funds allocated for greenery projects.
Funds have been used for other urgent needs such as schools, hospitals andinfrastructure items.
To pave the way for the plan, the Department of Construction will recall allpublic parks used for private purposes and call for investment from companiesto open up new public areas with high quality.
The city will also take action to move factories out of residential zones anduse that land to create new public parks with plenty of trees.
Do Anh Khang, vice chairman of the Go Vap District People’s Committee, saidthat it was high time for the city to build more green parks and plant moretrees.
The city is planning to develop the new Thu Duc city as a green city byplanting more trees on streets and in parks and opening 26 new parks.
Phu Huu Park covers 3,500sq.m and costs 4 billion VND (nearly 174,000 USD). Ithas a kids' zone, a working-out area with facilities, and a walking area,providing green space for locals to exercise and relax.
This is expected to open in late 2021 and has so far received positivefeedback.
Besides Phu Huu park, HCM City also plans to complete six more new green parksacross the city this year.
They include Cay Sop (District 12) and Rach Tra (Hoc Mon) on Bui Thi Diet street(Cu Chi), a park in the National University area (Tan Binh), and Ca Cam parkalong Tran Xuan Soan Street (District 7).
A report of the Vietnam Environment Administration last year said the citybuilt only 445ha of green space, though the set target was 10,300ha.
The city had 369 parks covering more than 500ha in public places andresidential areas, or 0.55sq.m per capita./.
VNA
