HCM CITY — The HCM City People’s Committee has sought Government approval to set off fireworks to mark New Year and Tết (the Lunar New Year).

On New Year’s Eve, the city plans a high-altitude fireworks display near the Sài Gòn River tunnel in District 2.

Three other low-range pyrotechnic performances will light up Đầm Sen Theme Park (District 11), Củ Chi Tunnel (Củ Chi District), and Sác Forest (Cần Giờ District).

Each show, starting at midnight, will last 15 minutes.

Similar shows are scheduled for the same venues on the midnight of February 15, 2018, the Eve of the Lunar New Year.

But there will also be Lunar New Year fireworks displays at Ngã Ba Giồng War Martyrs Monument in Hóc Môn District and in Nhà Bè District.

The city will look to private resources to fund the pyrotechnics.

Last year there were no fireworks anywhere in the country, and the money thus saved was earmarked to help the poor.

The city’s request to celebrate the 42nd Reunification Day (April 30) and Labour Day (May 1) with fanfare was also turned down.

The lights returned finally to the city for National Day on September 2 with funding from the private sector.

A range of activities are planned to usher in the new year, including a countdown on Nguyễn Huệ Street on the evening of December 31 with a light show illuminating the People’s Committee building at the end of the street.

There will be dance and music performances at Gia Định Park, the Youth Culture House and universities and industrial parks on December 31 and January 1.

Since last Wednesday streets all the way from Tân Sơn Nhất International Airport to downtown have been lit up colourfully.

Iconic buildings such as the People’s Committee, Opera House, the HCM City Museum, and the Central Post Office will be ablaze with lights during the festive season. — VNS