Progressive Corporation International (AIC) has proposed a plan to build reservoirs and use mobile water pumps to deal with chronic flooding in HCMC.

In a report sent to the city government last week, the HCMC Steering Center of the Urban Flood Control Program (SCFC) said the company’s plan can be taken into account at a time when major components of the city’s anti-flooding plans are progressing slowly due to high costs.

AIC suggested building reservoirs beneath public areas such as schools, parks, parking lots, and residential projects and hospitals to store rainwater to ease pressure on the city’s current drainage system.

SCFC said the plan should be carefully considered before the city chooses locations to build such reservoirs on a trial basis.

Regarding the proposal of using water pumps on specialized vehicles to tackle floods at hotspots, the center said it would not work on roads with frequent traffic gridlock.

AIC also recommended installing a radar system, monitoring stations and cameras to collect data about rain and tides and observe flood-prone locations in HCMC. An emergency operation center is needed to analyze data for relevant agencies to make predictions about flooding in the city.

SGT