Nguyen Huu Canh Street in HCMC’s Binh Thanh District is flooded after heavy rain. The rent for the super-large water pump installed on the street has been confirmed by a representative of the Infrastructure Management Center under the HCMC Department of Construction

The massive water pump was put into operation in October 2017. Though an agreement to rent a water pump to prevent the street from flooding was signed on April 19, 2018, the annual rent for the water pump had not been determined at that time, Phap Luat Online newspaper reported.

The rent has, until now, been confirmed by the representative of the Infrastructure Management Center under the municipal department.

Quang Trung Industry JSC had earlier proposed that the municipal government use the anti-flooding pump on Nguyen Huu Canh Street, Binh Thanh District, beginning on October 2, 2017, with a capacity of 97,000 cubic meters per hour, pledging not to collect rent if the pump did not work well. After it began operating, the city confirmed it worked efficiently.

The firm proposed the annual rental fee of VND24.4 billion for the pump, at this time, while the city suggested nearly VND10 billion for the annual rent.

However, the city has recently seen first rains in 2019 flooding Nguyen Huu Canh Street. The street, for example, was submerged under rainwater on May 10.

The pump is said to be a temporary solution to fight flooding in HCMC. The HCMC Department of Transport is carrying out a project to upgrade Nguyen Huu Canh Street at a cost of VND473 billion.

Of the projected spending, VND371 billion is expected to cover expenses for road construction, drainage systems, trees, lighting systems and other installations. SGT