The HCM City administration has instructed competent agencies to provide all assistance to a company undertaking flood prevention works to ensure there are no delays. — Photo tienphong.vn

HCM CITY — The HCM City administration has instructed competent agencies to provide all assistance to a company undertaking flood prevention works to ensure there are no delays.

The project’s first phase, which began in June and is expected to be finished in 2018, aims to prevent flooding caused by high tides and climate change on an area of 570sq.km with a population of 6.5 million on the western bank of the Sài Gòn River including downtown.

The work is projected to cost nearly VNĐ10 trillion (US$450 million) and is being done by Trung Nam Group in build – transfer mode.

Speaking at a meeting with company executives on Tuesday, city People’s Committee Chairman Nguyễn Thành Phong said relevant districts should immediately relocate households living in the construction area.

They should clear businesses along the bank that hinder the work, he said.

Nguyễn Tâm Tiến, general director of Trung Nam Group, said six tide control sluices each 40 -160 meters wide, two small sluices, and 7.8km of embankments are being built. 

However, construction of some the six large sluices has been held up because of land issues, he said.

At the site of the Tân Thuận sluice in Districts 4 and 7, for instance, three households have not moved out while the pavement managed by the Sài Gòn Tunnel Management Centre has not been cleared.

In Nhà Bè District, construction of embankments at two places also faces site clearance obstacles.

Võ Thanh Khả, deputy chairman of the Nhà Bè District People’s Committee, said construction of the embankments has affected 200 households and businesses.

Some of the businesses have refused to relocate, he said.

The Sài Gòn Tunnel Management Centre has tasked the Oriental Consultants Company Limited with studying and proposing ways to prevent flooding in the Sài Gòn River Tunnel.

On September 26 heavy rains caused 10cm of flooding in the tunnel and the centre had to stop motorbikes from entering the tunnel from the District 1 side. — VNS