VIET NAM NEWS – Ho Chi Minh City (HCM City) is struggling to relocate nearly 20,000 slum homes situated on and along local canals.
The city administration began the project in 2016 to improve the look of the area and bring better quality of life for local people, but a lack of funds means the process has been extremely slow.
Data from the city’s Department of Construction showed that as of July 2022, the city had only relocated a total of 2,479 out of nearly 20,000 of the homes, equal to 12.4 per cent.
Only in District 8, there are more than 12,300 poor properties along the canals.
Chairman of the district’s People’s Committee Tran Thanh Tung told Thoi Nay online newspaper that it needs at least VND9 trillion (USD385.7 million) to relocate people living along the south bank of Doi Canal and build an embankment.
The committee has coordinated with relevant agencies to call upon for investment from the private sector but failed, he said.
Deputy director of the construction department Huynh Thanh Khiet said the project’s implementation was slow although the city had ordered districts to actively carry out relocation work.
But it still faced problems in compensation and land clearance, he said.
Most of the low end homes have a very small area of land and are mainly built on the water. So, the relocation faces many difficulties in terms of paperwork, he said.
The main difficulty is that it requires a huge amount of capital, but the city budget is having to prioritise urgent infrastructure and social projects.
The department’s Urban Development Office said from now to 2025, the city will focus on implementing three projects to solve the dual goals of improving the water drainage to combat floods and relocation to refurbish the urban areas.
The three projects consist of dredging, environmental improvement and infrastructure construction on Xuyen Tam Canal, Van Thanh Canal in districts of Bình Thanh and Go Vap, and Hy Vong Canal in Tan Binh District.
The estimated investment capital for the projects are VND9.3 trillion (USD398.4 million), VND1.98 trillion (USD84.8 million) and VND1.2 trillion (USD51.4 million).
The three projects are set to relocate a total of 3,220 poor houses.
Deputy head of the office Nguyen Chi Thien said there are large enterprises interested, but so far the projects failed to attract investment. To fix the situation, the department has advised the People’s Committee of the city to call for investment for the projects, such as expanding the canals’ corridor to create a commercially-exploitable land fund that is attractive.
Chairman of the HCM City Real Estate Association (HoREA) Le Hoang Chau said the most important thing in implementing projects is land clearance.
Therefore, the association suggested the city administration to separate the work of land clearance and compensation into an independent project, he said.
After the land fund is available, the city could open a bidding to select investors, he said.
Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Phan Văn Mãi said that the city is determined to implement the programme.
