On the afternoon of December 3, Vice Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Bui Xuan Cuong signed document No. 4334/UBND-DA, requesting the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment to allocate VND10 trillion (US$379 million) from the central budget for climate change and environmental protection to support a comprehensive Urban Redevelopment and Canal-Side Housing Relocation Plan for the 2025-30 period.
The Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee stated that the city’s river and canal network has played a key role in drainage, flood control and public space creation. However, tens of thousands of houses remain on and along canals, mainly in areas concentrating on critical drainage basins.
These conditions pose risks of fire and explosion, erosion, obstruction of water flow, flooding and serious environmental pollution, negatively affecting urban aesthetics and residents’ quality of life.
The city has already approved two major renovation projects for river and canal areas, including a dedicated plan for former District 8 covering Chanh Hung, Binh Dong and Phu Dinh wards.
The projects focus on dredging and clearing water flow, preventing erosion, constructing embankments and canal-side roads, enhancing urban landscapes, and improving water and air quality, and developing parks and public spaces. Total funding needs for the two projects reach VND105 trillion (nearly US$4 billion).
As the city is prioritizing key tasks such as achieving double-digit economic growth, completing strategic transport infrastructure, developing the metro system and implementing inter-regional projects, the local budget is under significant strain, particularly from compensation and resettlement expenses.
Therefore, the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee has proposed that the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment consider allocating VND10 trillion from climate-change and environmental-protection funds to help the city accelerate urban redevelopment and environmental protection goals aligned with central government directives.
On the same afternoon, Vice Chairman of the HCMC People’s Committee Bui Xuan Cuong also signed a directive conveying the HCMC Chairman’s instruction on public investment disbursement.
Under the directive, departments, agencies, project management units, investors and local authorities must accelerate the 2025 disbursement progress.
Units with over 80-percent disbursement must continue striving to meet annual targets, while priority funding will be allocated to projects carried over into 2026. Meanwhile, units with low disbursement rates must strengthen field inspections, promptly address obstacles, and reallocate capital from slow-moving projects to those capable of faster disbursement.
