“Which way is best to get to Nguyen Xien Street now, ma’am?” Hearing the question from a man riding a motorbike with his pregnant wife, Nguyen Thi Tuyet enthusiastically pointed out the route through Lo Lu Street (Long Phuoc Ward). She did not forget to boast, “The road is very beautiful today, spacious, airy, and free of massive potholes.”
These days, it isn’t difficult to encounter similar stories around HCMC. Nguyen Thu Ha from Binh Thanh Ward recounted her joy when taking an elderly family member to visit Ly Thai To Park No.1 for the first time. “My father previously only stayed at home, but now he’s eager to invite his children and grandchildren for a walk, constantly praising the park as beautiful and meaningful,” Ms. Ha shared.
For the elderly in this city, the fact that a plot of land, previously fenced off and abandoned for many years, has now been transformed into a spacious park open to everyone for recreation and to commemorate Covid-19 victims, is highly treasured.
Recently, the city has renovated numerous central streets and rehabilitated many vacant lots, returning green spaces to the community. Notable examples include the land plot at 135 Nguyen Hue, the 34-36-42 Chu Manh Trinh plot, the 2-4-6 Hai Ba Trung plot, and the quadrangle bounded by Le Thanh Ton, Nam Ky Khoi Nghia, Nguyen Trung Truc, and Le Loi streets.
Many wards and communes are also making relentless efforts to elevate the residents’ living standards. An Khanh Ward features 12 parks and community gathering points, which were renovated from formerly vacant plots. In the afternoons, children play while the elderly exercise and converse, making the neighborhood atmosphere more vibrant and cohesive.
Having lived in Neighborhood One for a long time, Nguyen Thi An could not conceal her delight when the park and community house were inaugurated. “We can genuinely feel the administration’s concern for the people,” Ms. An expressed.
Beyond completed projects, many localities have clearly defined their core missions for the 2025-2030 term. This involves accelerating urban embellishment to proactively deploy initiatives from the outset, aiming to facilitate swift and visible transformations.
Secretary Hoang Tung of the An Khanh Ward Party Committee informed that renovating these twelve formerly vacant lots into versatile community spaces adheres to the HCMC directives on expanding green coverage and materializes objectives through highly visible, verifiable tasks.
For Thuan Giao Ward, the construction of Binh Chuan 3 Primary School brings immense enthusiasm to local residents. Projected for completion by late 2026, the new facility features four stories and forty classrooms. Costing over VND152.6 billion (US$5.8 million), it satisfies longstanding public aspirations for standardized education amidst rapid population growth.
Ward Chairwoman Vo Huynh Ngoc Thuy stated that the locality is finalizing procedures to upgrade crucial routes, including D1, N3, and N4 streets. With a budget exceeding VND81 billion ($3 million), this project significantly perfects traffic flow and enhances urban aesthetics.
Equally prioritizing the improvement of citizens’ lives through civil transport projects, right from the beginning of the term, Tam Binh Ward compiled a comprehensive list of numerous roads, alleys, and anti-flooding constructions requiring immediate renovation.
According to Chairman Nguyen Minh Dien of the Tam Binh Ward People’s Committee, following the inauguration of the project to upgrade 12 roads and alleys, the ward is continuing to prepare procedures to deploy the maintenance and repair of 34 additional street surfaces and alleys.
In Tan Khanh Ward, the project to upgrade the drainage system and lay hot asphalt concrete on a dirt road in Hoa Nhut Neighborhood, with a total investment of over VND9 billion ($342,600), has been completed and operationalized, resolving the persistent issues of flooding and muddiness that lasted for years.
Simultaneously, the ward broke ground on An Thanh Neighborhood Park, covering an area of over 1,553m2 with a total investment capital exceeding VND3.3 billion ($125,600), generating additional green spaces and playgrounds for residents. Other projects, such as the drainage system in Phuoc Hai Neighborhood and the repair of the DX 07 route in Phuoc An Neighborhood, are also being deployed synchronously, demonstrating the grassroots government's firm resolve to “decide promptly and execute immediately.”
New infrastructure projects from the municipal down to the grassroots level, regardless of their scale, all contribute to bringing joy to the populace. Each completed project not only enhances urban aesthetics but also fosters public consensus and cultivates optimistic expectations, reinforcing trust in the city’s subsequent developmental journey.
