The eroded embankment section along Thanh Đa Canal in HCM City’s Bình Thạnh District has caused many local houses to have a high risk of collapse and cracks in walls. — VNA/VNS Photo Mạnh Linh

HCM CITY  — The HCM City Department of Transport has proposed to fix an eroded embankment of nearly 500 metres along Thanh Đa Canal in Bình Thạnh District at a cost of VNĐ90 billion (US$3.8 million).

The department has sent a document to the municipal People’s Committee outlining the rebuilding of the embankment.

More than a month ago a 220-m section on the right bank of the Thanh Đa Canal, part of the Sài Gòn River network, broke away.

The landslide on Thanh Đa canal bank did not cause any injury, but it affected 15 houses, most of which had cracks in walls, and sank and leaned towards the canal, with possible risk of landslide.

The department said there had been heavy rain for many days, soaking the ground behind the embankment (under the floor of houses) due to the lack of a drainage system behind the embankment, which played a role in causing that embankment section to lose stability.

The city is supporting locals who are affected by subsidence of the section.

About five kilometres from the city’s downtown, Thanh Đa Peninsula spans more than 635 ha.

Surrounded by the Sài Gòn River and Thanh Đa Canal, an artificial waterway linked with the river, the peninsula is prone to erosion. In 2006, the city began construction of an anti-erosion embankment on the peninsula.

It was divided into four sections.

Only one, costing VNĐ110 billion ($4.6 million) and running more than two kilometres, has been completed. The eroded area is in that section.

According to the department, the fund it estimated will also be used to upgrade the drainage system and build a park. However, the cost of land has yet to be included.

The eroded embankment section was built in 2009 when there were no houses in the area.

It was regulated then that houses must be built at least 10m away from the embankment, but many have been built as close as 3.5m from it, resulting in high load capacity for the embankment.

Regarding the unfinished embankment sections, the project’s management unit, the Transportation Works Construction Investment Project Management Authority, terminated the contract with the two contractors building the second and fourth sections, and penalised their tardiness, which delayed the entire project.  — VNS