Chợ Gạo Canal in Tiền Giang Province’s Chợ Gạo District. By 2023, the province aims to complete the Chợ Gạo canal upgrade project to improve waterway traffic in the area.– Photo sggp.org.vn

TIỀN GIANG — The Ministry of Transport and the People's Committee of Tiền Giang Province recently held a groundbreaking ceremony for phase two of the upgrade project for Chợ Gạo Canal, the key waterway used to transport goods between HCM City and the Mekong Delta region. 

The project includes dredging the canal and building a stone embankment on the southern side of the canal and roads along its two banks.

The construction project will be completed by the end of 2023, with a total investment of more than VNĐ1.3 trillion (US$58 million).

Covering nearly 30 hectares of land, the project will widen 9.85 kilometres of the canal’s southern bank and reinforce the bank. Bridges and roads along the canal’s two banks will also be built.

The first phase of the project was completed and put into operation in 2015.

The province's People Committee has asked authorities to evaluate the project’s land area and keep the public well-informed about relocation work.

Every year, the local government has to invest more than VNĐ5 billion to prevent landslides in the project area.

According to the province's Waterways Traffic Police Department, nearly 1,100 vessels pass along Chợ Gạo canal every day. Due to shallow water, ships often get stuck for up to eight hours at a time.

Large-capacity ships must anchor at Tiền and Vàm Cỏ rivers while waiting for the tide to rise to pass along the canal. VNS