A section of Xuyên Tâm Canal in HCM City’s Bình Thạnh District is seriously polluted, affecting local residents' health and the environment. — VNA/VNS Photo Trần Xuân Tình

HCM CITY — After prolonged delays, a project worth VNĐ9.6 trillion (US$405.6 million) to renovate polluted Xuyên Tâm Canal in HCM City is scheduled to start next year.

The eighth meeting of the 10th-tenure HCM City People's Council last week approved a resolution to implement investment for the renovation project of Xuyên Tâm Canal in the city’s Bình Thạnh and Gò Vấp districts.

The total length of Xuyên Tâm Canal is about 8.2km, of which the project's scope from Nhiêu Lộc - Thị Nghè Canal to Vàm Thuật River is 6.4km long.

The project has been delayed for 20 years and is also one of the city’s urgent projects of urban betterment and development plans in the period of 2021-25.

Previously, the project was planned to be invested under a BT (build-transfer) contract in a public-private partnership (PPP) model. But in 2019, the city agreed to allocate public investment capital from the city budget to implement the project.

Construction of the project is scheduled to begin in 2023 and be completed in 2028.

The project needs to relocate more than 2,000 affected households along the canal.

It includes dredging and cleaning up the canal, building a wastewater collection and drainage system, and a new road on each side with green areas, parks, and technical infrastructure.

The city plans to set up a working group to carry out construction of the project and the relocation of affected houses.

Its Department of Construction is the team leader and is responsible for working with relevant units and experts to initiate the project soon.

For many years, Xuyên Tâm Canal has been polluted due to illegal discharge of untreated domestic waste and wastewater used by households living along both sides of the canal.

That has caused blockages of water flow, polluting the environment, and flooding.

The city authorities have made great efforts to increase public awareness about the need to stop littering into rivers and canals, and strictly manage illegal encroachment and littering. — VNS