The Cần Thơ Fatherland Front Committee, in collaboration with the Việt Nam Oil and Gas Group, held a ceremony on March 29 to handover 20 đại đoàn kết (great solidarity) houses to disadvantaged households in Ô Môn and Thới Lai districts. – VNA/VNS Photo Trung Kiên

HCM CITY – Local authorities in the Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta are boosting the reconstruction and repair of temporary and deteriorated houses for needy households.

Under a programme to eliminate makeshift and dilapidated houses nationwide (the housing programme), Cần Thơ and 12 provinces in the delta have implemented various measures to support poor, near-poor, and housing-needy households to repair or rebuild their temporary and deteriorated houses.

According to Nguyễn Thị Ngọc Điệp, deputy chairwoman of the Cần Thơ People's Committee, the city aims to basically complete the eradication of temporary and dilapidated houses for families of revolutionary contributors, as well as poor and near-poor households, by April 30.

As of now, the city has begun the construction and repair of all 531 houses planned this year for poor and near-poor households, as well as families of revolutionary contributors, with 141 houses already handed over.

The delta’s provinces, including Sóc Trăng, Tiền Giang, An Giang, and Cà Mau, also aim to complete the housing programme by the end of this year.

These provinces plan to build thousands of houses for housing-needy households this year.

As of early March, Cà Mau has begun construction on 1,888 houses, reaching 42.9 per cent of the target, and 1,339 of them have been completed.

Cà Mau is among the top 10 localities nationwide to successfully implement the eradication of temporary and dilapidated houses.

Ngô Vũ Thăng, deputy chairman of the Bạc Liêu Province People's Committee, said that the province planned to build nearly 1,000 houses in this year’s second phase of eradicating temporary and dilapidated houses.

Bạc Liêu aimed to build, complete and hand over all these houses to poor and near-poor households by April 30, considering it a meaningful gift to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Liberation of the South and National Reunification.

Lê Hồng Quang, secretary of the An Giang Party Committee and head of the province’s steering committee for the housing programme, said localities in the province should take decisive action to ensure that housing support for families of revolutionary contributors is completed by April 30.

The province aimed to fully eradicate temporary and dilapidated houses by June 2025, he said.

Localities should pay special attention to the quality of construction to ensure that residents can benefit from and use their homes in the long term, he said.

Mobilising resources

The Cà Mau Province People’s Committee’s working delegation inspect the progress of house construction in Thới Bình District’s Tân Bằng Commune on March 11, as part of a programme to eliminate makeshift and dilapidated houses nationwide. – VNA/VNS Photo Huỳnh Anh

Cần Thơ and 12 provinces in the delta have mobilised various resources to ensure sufficient funding to support the repair and construction of houses for housing-needy households.

An Giang Province has 3,156 households in need of housing support, with a total cost of VNĐ175 billion (US$6.8 million) to build 2,672 new houses and repair 484 houses. It has mobilised VNĐ139 billion ($5.4 million) from various sources.

According to Võ Chí Hữu, deputy chairman of the Đồng Tháp Province Fatherland Front Committee, the province aims to raise VNĐ100 billion ($3.9 million) for its Fund for the Poor to support housing construction this year.

At present, 2,524 poor and near-poor households in Đồng Tháp are facing housing difficulties and need support for new homes.

The province targets building 2,000 new houses for needy households by September, aiming to completely eliminate temporary housing by 2030.

Authorities in Cần Thơ and the delta’s 12 provinces are mobilising human resources such as army forces, socio-political organisations, companies, and philanthropists to assist housing-needy households in rebuilding and repairing their houses.

The Bến Tre Province Fatherland Front Committee has called on businesses, organisations, individuals, and the public to join hands in supporting the construction and repair of houses for disadvantaged households.

The Bến Tre Youth Union has launched the movement "Young people join hands to eliminate makeshift and dilapidated houses for residents," from March to December 2025.

One of the significant contributions of Bến Tre youth to this movement is their voluntary labour. Youth volunteer teams with at least 15 permanent members each in communes, wards, and towns are always ready to transport building materials, clear construction sites, and directly participate in building and repairing houses.

The Hậu Giang Province Youth Union has established and maintained 73 volunteer teams under the initiative "Young volunteers eliminating makeshift and dilapidated houses" during Youth Month 2025 in March. These teams, comprising over 1,060 youth union members and young people, have contributed more than 1,200 working days to the construction and repair of houses.

Kiên Giang Province is intensifying public awareness campaigns to highlight the importance and objectives of the housing programme, encouraging active participation from all sectors of society, including the public, social-political organisations and businesses.

It has received VNĐ101.4 billion ($3.9 million) for the housing programme, meeting 66 per cent of the required budget. An additional VNĐ52 billion ($2 million) is still needed, requiring continued mobilisation efforts.

Stabilising household lives

Support for housing-needy households in the Mekong Delta to rebuild or repair their houses has helped these households stabilise their lives.

Nguyễn Hoàng Đạt, a resident in Ô Môn District’s Trường Lạc Ward in Cần Thơ, said his family had faced many difficulties, and their old house was severely deteriorated, but they did not have money to rebuild or repair it.

He expressed deep gratitude to the local authorities, the Cần Thơ Fatherland Front Committee, and the sponsors for providing his family with a solid and well-built house.

The new home is not just a shelter but also a source of motivation for his family to strive for a better future and contribute to the development of their hometown.

Tăng Văn Nhãn, a resident of Hàm Tân Commune in Trà Vinh Province’s Trà Cú District, expressed his deep gratitude upon receiving a new house.

Living with his ill younger sibling, Nhãn himself suffers from poor health and has no stable income. He relies on monthly disability allowances and the support of donors to make ends meet, making it impossible for him to build a house of his own.

"Now, I have been given a house. Though small, it is warm and comforting," he shared with joy.

Trà Vinh launched various fund-raising campaigns and mobilised support from various sources to build more than 5,880 houses for poor and near-poor households facing housing difficulties last year. These houses meet three solid criteria: a firm foundation, strong walls and frame, and a durable roof, ensuring a lifespan of at least 20 years and protection against harsh weather conditions.

Lê Thanh Bình, chairman of the Trà Vinh Fatherland Front Committee, said the housing programme for poor households was a top priority of the Provincial Party Committee.

The initiative aimed to provide not only secure housing but also motivation and encouragement for poor households to engage in production, improve their livelihoods, and achieve a better standard of living, he said.– VNS