HCM City reviews ongoing flood-prevention progra妹妹e

Heavy rains cause flooding on Thanh Loan Road in District  八, HCM City on Sunday. Flood prevention in the city remains a difficult challenge. — VNA/VNS Photo Anh Tuấn

HCM CITY — Flood prevention works in HCM City between  二0 一 六 and  二0 二0 are estimated to cost more than VNĐ 九 六. 三 trillion (US$ 四. 二 billion), according to its Steering Centre of the Urban Flood Control Progra妹妹e.

At a meeting held to review the progra妹妹e’s implementation on May  一 八, Nguyễn Hoàng Anh Dũng, the centre’s deputy director, said the amount included VNĐ 二 一. 九 trillion ($ 九 六0. 五 billion) from the private sector.

The flood prevention projects include construction of three irrigation reservoirs, upgrades to the storm drain system and the Xuyên Tâm Canal, and construction of seven wastewater treatment plants.

Two and a half years after starting the progra妹妹e the centre has achieved the goal of preventing flooding in the city’s  五 五0sq.km central area and five neighbouring areas, according to Dũng.

This year seven more main streets and  四 四 五 alleys will become flooding-free.

River tides too flood many streets, but four have now put this problem behind them.

Many of the projects in the progra妹妹e had been delayed due to shortage of funds, and the People’s Co妹妹ittee should seek financing from the private sector and official development assistance, Dũng said.

It should instruct relevant agencies to take severe action against encroachment of drains and illegal filling of canals, he said.  

Canals and channels should be regularly dredged, he said.  

Nguyễn Thành Phong, Chairman of the city People’s Co妹妹ittee, called on relevant agencies and districts to co-ordinate with the centre for flood prevention.

Urban management and co-ordination were “limited”, leading to low effectiveness of flood-prevention efforts, he said.

The centre should earmark more spaces for water storage and do further research into water drainage, he said.

There were many reasons for flooding, including tides, heavy rains, failure to dredge canals and channels, and others, he said.

So many different measures were required and applied simultaneously to resolve the problem, he added.— VNS