The HCMC government has passed a plan to build a water pumping station as a temporary measure to control chronic floods on Kinh Duong Vuong Street and in other parts of Binh Tan District.

The outlying district is one of the most flood-prone areas in the city, so traffic and the lives of local people would be seriously affected when there is heavy rain.

While a major sewer project in the district is not yet complete, the Steering Center for Flood Control of HCMC (SCFC) has been assigned to work with the municipal Department of Transport and Binh Tan District to promptly build the pumping station to cope with floods there.

A project to upgrade Kinh Duong Vuong Street and a drainage system along the road has seriously affected traffic and daily activities of local people, HCMC vice chairman Le Van Khoa said in a report released by the city government last week.

To ease negative impact of the ongoing project, the city government has approved the transport department’s proposal to adjust the project. For the sections of the street already covered with asphalt, the height of the road surface agreed by locals will be kept unchanged but

the sidewalks will be lowered by around ten centimeters compared to the design.

For the remaining section, the height of the road surface will be reduced by 25 centimeters compared to the original design, and the height of the sidewalks will be lowered as well.

Serious flooding has hit many other parts of the city after the city has been able to control floods in many flood-prone areas.

Data of the center showed that the city had done away with flooding in 51 out of 68 flood-prone areas last year.

In 2008, the city had 126 flood-prone areas, with 85 of them in the downtown area. The respective numbers went down to 40 and 14 in 2013.

The city saw 16 streets submerged under water after the first 11 downpours of this rainy season.

SGT