The 7.5km Tan Hoa-Lo Gom canal and its nearby areas in Ho Chi Minh City now have a new look after four years of clean-up and upgrade, benefiting over 1.2 million residents.

As part of the city’s waterway and sewage grid, the canal runs through Districts 6 and 11, Tan Binh and Tan Phu districts, and was once gravely  tainted and plagued with murky water, rampant garbage, and a foul odor.

The 167 million USD project, with more than 128 million USD sourced from the World Bank (WB), involves building over 2,500m of sewer  network, nearly 8,000m of dykes, 11,500m of roads, and dredging 300,000 cubic metres of wastewater.

It also repaired 19 medical stations, built four schools and 13 bridges, and renovated 47 educational establishments.

The upgrade is among activities celebrating the 40 th anniversary of southern liberation and national reunification day (April 30).

Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, WB Country Director Victoria Kwakwa hailed the speedy upgrade process, which she said, is equivalent  to one third of the time spent on revamping Nhieu Loc-Thi Nghe canal.

She also pledged the WB’s additional support to the construction of a wastewater treatment plant in the city and a project on flooding risk  management in Tham Luong – Ben Cat canal basin.

On the occasion, President Truong Tan Sang presented Labour Order, second class, to the city’s management board for urban infrastructure  upgrade and planted trees on the site.-