Saigon officials are tackling Nguyen Huu Canh Street's issues with a comprehensive project to solve the thoroughfare’s chronic flooding problem.
The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Transport recently announced that it would commence a project to thoroughly improve Nguyen Huu Canh's infrastructure to mollify flooding on the important district connector, reports Zing.
Specifically, the plan aims to fix patches of subsidence and eventually raise the street level. Moreover, a new drainage system will also be put in place to make sure heavy bouts of torrential rain in the future won’t overwhelm it.
Workers trying to speed up drainage by clearing sewer openings in the area after a short shower in September this year. Photo via Zing.
Upgrades will be done on a 3.12-kilometer stretch of the street, running from the intersection of Ton Duc Thang Street in District 1 to the intersection with Dien Bien Phu Street in Binh Thanh District. The project is expected to cost VND472 billion (US$20.8 million).
The online news source also noted that the plan was proposed in 2009 and greenlit in 2015. However, it stalled for a year due to complications in funding. In September, 2016, Vingroup suggested to transportation authorities that it would front around VND526.7 billion to execute the project.
According to previous assessments by the city’s Department of Transport, Nguyen Huu Canh was built on unstable soil. Thus, the mushrooming of real estate projects along its length have exerted great pressure on the street, which has sunk over time, leading to flooding.
Zing shared that at the moment, Nguyen Huu Canh is serving many residential communities, schools and high-rise apartments such as The Manor and Saigon Pearl. In the future, the thoroughfare will also have to shoulder traffic from residents in the upcoming Vinhomes Central Park and Golden River, as well as the Sunwah Pearl.
Just one hour of moderate rain was enough to inundate Nguyen Huu Canh Street. Photos via Zing.
Last July, residents along the street were pleased to hear that the city had installed a “super pump” that would supposedly eliminate flooding in the area. However, since its completion – apart from a few successful test runs – the pump is still more of a white elephant than a solution.
[Top photo via Zing]
