Flooding has been a headache of Ho Chi Minh City authorities for years and Tan Son Nhat International Airport is also being submerged in water while solutions are slow in being implemented. 

The rain on September 11 quickly flooded Tan Son Nhat Airport, leaving seven to eight planes unable to land. Four Vietjet Air were rerouted and 22 other flights were delayed. Several roads leading to the airport including Truong Son, Hau Giang and Tien Giang were flooded.

On August 26, heavy rain also flooded the airport's parking lot, affecting 70 flights, leading to two flights being cancelled and 14 redirected to nearby airports.

Building works encroached on canals or rubbish clogging canals has been blamed. The airport has filed complaints with various agencies over the past two years, asking authorities to deal with encroaching buildings located upstream and dredge the canals, however, the problem hasn't been dealt with.

Canal A41 is responsible for regulating 50% of the water in the parking lot and the warehouses. 

This canal is 2km long and merges with Nhieu Loc-Thi Nghe canal. Despite its importance, it hasn't been maintained or upgraded in over a year.

The Steering Centre for Urban Flood Control in HCM City has built six new sewers along the canal to increase capacity but it is still often clogged. 

At some sections, the canal has narrowed to half of its original size to only one metre wide. The local authorities then started dredging the canal in June but little work was actually done.

Nguyen Ngoc Cong, director of the Steering Centre of the Urban Flood Control Programme in Ho Chi Minh City said Tan Binh District’s authorities was responsible for the canal but they were having difficulties while doing ground clearance so it was estimated that the project wouldn't be completed until 2019. 

Cong proposed the city authorities to review and deal with this case so that the project can be completed in 2017.

The centre has also started the project to upgrade Nhat Ban Canal, especially the section from Tan Son Nhat Airport to Nguyen Kiem Street, in May with the first phase estimated to be completed by the end of September.

In 2017, they will upgrade Hy Vong Canal, which is listed in HCM City Flood Risk Management Project. It is expected to be completed in 2019.

Some pictures of flooding at Tan Son Nhat Airport after rains on September 11:

Dtinews/VietNamNet