The fact that air pollution alerts in HCMC are not timely made available is attributable to the Center for Environment and Natural Resources Monitoring’s use of outdated environmental monitoring devices, said Cao Tung Son, director of the center.

Foreign and domestic consulting firms have been welcomed to submit designs for the underground space of the Ben Thanh station in District 1 as part of a competition recently approved by the HCMC government.

HCM City authorities have promised to take swift action to curb the worsening air pollution, including improving environmental monitoring capacity and establishing an early warning system for residents.

Sofitel Saigon Plaza and Disciples of Escoffier Vietnam will present the first All-Women Cheffes Culinary Festival in Vietnam as part of the annual fourth Saigon Gourmet Week to kick off in HCM City in mid October.

The Saigon International Comedy Club will present British stand-up comedian Eddy Brimson at Kurtz's by Heart of Darkness on October 16.

The HCMC government is collaborating with consultants to formulate a scheme to turn the city into a regional and international financial hub. More than 20 years ago, a similar project was set up but failed to materialize.

The HCM City Department of Natural Resources and Environment has warned about pollution in the Sai Gon and Dong Nai rivers and said the city water supply utilities should ensure the water it supplies residents is safe.

The HCM City Development and Research Institute has proposed preserving 16 villas built before 1975 because of their historical and cultural importance.

Hand, foot and mouth disease is reaching its peak season in HCM City, with incidence doubling last month from August, according to the city Preventive Medicine Centre.

To attract more investment, especially from overseas, HCM City needs to renovate and reform its export processing zones (EPZs) and industrial parks (IPs), Tran Quang Truong, general director of Tan Binh Industry Park said.

The HCM City Traffic Safety Management Board has instructed relevant district agencies to find and punish encroachment of roads and pavements.

The coal-fired power plants in the region are believed to be a main contributor to the increased pollution in HCM City.

Further measures are required to tackle the air pollution that has been plaguing HCM City in the last few days, authorities have admitted.

A haze has covered HCM City on and off for the last two weeks and air quality has severely deteriorated according to some global weather monitoring websites, but city residents are not getting information about it in time from authorities.

HCM City will host Hò dô 2019 (HOZO), an international music festival on December 13-15, according to the city's Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

Recycling or incinerating the 10,000 tons of waste produced per day in Ho Chi Minh City is no easy task. The outdated and mostly unregulated waste collecting system only adds more obstacles to the situation.

HCM City authorities yesterday pledged to speed up major projects such as Metro lines 1 and 2, flood-control and climate-change adaptation projects, and settlement of complaints related to the Thu Thiem new urban area.

The Southern Regional Hydro-Meteorological Center has announced that river tides in HCM City and the Mekong Delta region reached flood warning level 3 on Monday and Tuesday.

The HCMC People's Committee has assigned the Urban Railway Management Board to plan the implementation of the Ben Thanh underground shopping mall project.

Hanoi and HCM City have been named among the top three cities with the most serious air pollution in the world according to the air quality index (AQI) ranking by Air Visual.