Khuông Việt Street in District 11, HCM City floods with heavy rain, causing chaos for residents moving around the city. The city has started its biggest ever anti-flooding project to control tidal flooding and chronic flooding. — VNA/VNS Photo Hoàng Hải

HCM CITY — Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc kicked off the largest scale and most expensive anti-flooding construction project ever planned for HCM City yesterday, the latest effort by authorities to deal with chronic flooding problems.

The construction project will cost VNĐ10 trillion (US$450 million) with build-operate-transfer (BOT) project financing. The goals of the project are to control tidal flooding and to cope with climate change within the 570 square km of HCM City for its population of 6.5 million.

Six tide-control gates will be constructed in Bến Nghé, Tân Thuận, Phú Xuân, Mương Chuối, Cây Khô and Phú Định. Three pumping stations will also be built in Bến Nghé, Tân Thuận and Phú Định. Around 7.8 km of dyke will be built along the Sài Gòn River.

The project will be carried out over three years and will end in 2018.

Around 300 households with 1,500 people must be removed for the construction.

The project is intended to solve tidal flooding and urban flooding.

At the ceremony, PM Nguyễn Xuân Phúc said the project is of great significance to the development of the city. The city needs to develop good infrastructure, particularly flood control facilities, to realise its long-term development goals, according to the PM.

The HCM City’s anti-flooding master plan, which was approved by former Primer Minister Nguyễn Tấn Dũng last year, is divided into two parts: urban drainage and controlling tidal flooding.

At present, 60 per cent of HCM City floods at high tide - and 70 per cent of HCM City land is sinking.

Climate change, urbanisation, and higher tides on lower lands all make flooding an important challenge for the city.

New cancer hospital

The groundbreaking ceremony for the Oncology Hospital base 2 in district 9, HCM City also took place yesterday, after many delays.

“Building the Oncology Hospital base 2 is essential to serve increasing treatment demand,” Primer Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc said during his speech. “The Oncology Hospital base 2 will serve the whole southern region with the most modern technology."

The Oncology Hospital base 2 will sit on 5.6 hectares. The hospital will feature 10 floors and 2 basements, with a total area of 120,000 square metres. The 1,000-bed hospital will cost about VNĐ6 trillion ($270 million).

The hospital will be equipped with modern devices and will include a heliport.

The hospital is expected to open by the end of next year, after 18 months of construction.

There are more than 100,000 –150,000 oncology patients every year in Việt Nam. The percentage of patients treated in Việt Nam for this disease is very low, at only 25 beds per 1 million citizens - compared to the average rate of 100 beds per 1 million people in Singapore and Thailand.

The HCM City Oncology Hospital base 2 is one of five central hospitals to be built in HCM City. The hospital was approved by former Primer Minister Nguyễn Tấn Dũng in 2014.

Nearly 40 households and 12 enterprises had to be relocated for the hospital, which was originally supposed to be built by HCM City starting in 2006. – VNS