The Ho Chi Minh City Urban Infrastructure Construction Investment Project Management Board launched the first construction package of the Van Thanh Canal dredging, environmental improvement and infrastructure development project in Thanh My Tay Ward.

The project has a total investment of more than VND8.55 trillion, funded by the municipal budget, and is scheduled for implementation between 2025 and 2030.

It comprises two components: infrastructure construction and environmental improvements costing more than VND1.74 trillion, and compensation, support, resettlement and site clearance costing over VND6.81 trillion.

First construction package to be completed by 2028

Nguyen Hoang Anh Dung, Deputy Director of the HCMC Urban Infrastructure Construction Investment Project Management Board, said the first construction package covers approximately 410 meters, extending from the beginning of Vo Oanh Street to the Van Thanh 1 Bridge area.

The contractor will also construct a wastewater collection system along the entire canal, extending to the Nhieu Loc - Thi Nghe drainage basin pumping station.

The package is valued at more than VND600 billion and is expected to take approximately two years to complete.

Major works include dredging the canal to a bed elevation of minus three meters and widening it to between 25 and 80 meters.

The project will also involve constructing retaining walls using prestressed reinforced concrete sheet piles, installing stormwater drainage pipes with a diameter of 400mm and wastewater collection pipes ranging from 600mm to 2,000mm in diameter.

Additional infrastructure will include roads and sidewalks connecting to Dien Bien Phu Street, landscaping, street lighting and utility trenches.

The first construction package is scheduled for completion in 2028.

The remaining two construction packages will subsequently be implemented from Km0+410 to the end of the canal section, including the construction of a pedestrian bridge and a new Phu An Bridge measuring 19 meters in width.

The entire project will renovate approximately 2.24 kilometers of Van Thanh Canal, comprising 1,965 meters of the main canal and 275 meters of branch canals.

According to project statistics, the works will directly affect 1,077 households and other affected cases, including 749 requiring full clearance and 328 requiring partial clearance.

HCMC plans to relocate 40,000 households along canals by 2030

Speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony, HCMC Vice Chairman Hoang Nguyen Dinh said the city plans to relocate approximately 40,000 households living along 400 kilometers of canals and waterways by 2030.

The initiative is expected to cost around VND400 trillion, accounting for approximately one-third of the city's total public investment capital for the 2026-2030 period.

Dinh said the scale of the planned investment demonstrates the city's determination to prioritize canal environmental improvements, urban redevelopment and the provision of new housing for affected residents.

He thanked households living along both sides of Van Thanh Canal for agreeing to hand over land to enable the project to proceed.

The vice chairman also instructed Thanh My Tay Ward authorities and the project investor to facilitate construction activities.

Contractors were urged to mobilize workers and equipment promptly to ensure the project meets its schedule and quality requirements.

Once completed, the Van Thanh Canal renovation project is expected to address pollution, improve drainage capacity and help reduce flooding in the surrounding area.

The project will also upgrade transport infrastructure, channel domestic wastewater into centralized treatment systems, improve the urban landscape and enhance residents' quality of life.

Tuan Kiet