A flood control project capitalized at VND10 trillion in HCMC is now 65% complete after one year and a half of construction and is expected to be finished in April.

File photo of a salvage truck moving on a heavily flooded street in HCMC. A flood control project capitalized at VND10 trillion in HCMC is expected to be finished in April 

Trung Nam Construction Investment Corporation (Trung Nam Group) on Monday began installing the beam of Phu Xuan floodgate, one of six major floodgates in the project.

The floodgate is being built in Dia Canal and is 70% complete. Its opening is 80 meters long.

The beam measures 40 meters in length, 1.75 meters in height and 2.4 meters in width, and is 8.65 meters above water level. Water transport along the canal is not affected by beam installation.

Phu Xuan floodgate will be basically complete when Trung Nam Group finishes beam installation. The group will then install two valves to put the floodgate into operation.

Phase one of the project was kicked off in June 2016 to put floods under control in a 570-square-kilometer area that is home to about 6.5 million people.

The project comprises six major floodgates – Ben Nghe, Tan Thuan, Phu Xuan, Muong Chuoi, Cay Kho and Phu Dinh, with each having a width of 40 to 160 meters. Pumping stations will be built at Ben Nghe, Tan Thuan and Phu Dinh floodgates with a respective capacity of 12, 24 and 18 cubic meters per second.

Besides, a 7.8-kilometer dyke system with 25 smaller floodgates measuring one to ten meters in width will be built along a Saigon River section between the Vam Thuat River and the Kinh River.

These floodgates will be located in districts 1, 4, 7, 8, Nha Be and Binh Chanh, and the project will cover 100 hectares and relocate 1,500 people.

The project will help control floods caused by high tides on the right bank of the Saigon River and in downtown HCMC, regulate water levels in canals, and improve water drainage in the city.

SGT