At the session, leaders of the municipal Department of Construction and relevant agencies outlined the current state of the drainage system and ongoing flood control projects, while highlighting a range of structural shortcomings. Notably, drainage infrastructure has been developed in phases and lacks synchronization across river basins. Tidal control works remain incomplete, while land subsidence, increasingly extreme rainfall, and rising tides are exacerbating the risk of prolonged and severe flooding.
Management remains fragmented among multiple agencies, with limited inter-agency coordination. Investment resources are constrained and fall short of actual needs, while many projects have been delayed due to land clearance issues and procedural bottlenecks.
These realities underscore the need to shift from a piecemeal approach to localized flood control toward integrated basin-based management, combining structural and non-structural measures across planning, investment, and operations.
Mr. Nguyen Cong Danh called for a comprehensive review of flood mitigation projects, with a clear prioritization framework aligned with available resources. Urgent, high-feasibility projects should be prioritized for funding and completion in the 2026–2030 period, while others should be categorized as pipeline projects ready for deployment when funding becomes available. Authorities were also urged to clearly distinguish between completed, ongoing, and newly initiated projects.
The goal is to address fragmented investment, improve resource efficiency, and ensure that each project delivers measurable flood reduction outcomes.
Alongside project planning, securing and balancing financial resources remains a pressing challenge, as funding needs for flood control in the coming years are substantial, while the State budget can only meet part of the demand.
