The 10,000 billion VND flood prevention project is about to "revive"

Muong Chuoi Canal, a part of the nearly 10,000 billion VND flood prevention project in Ho Chi Minh City (Photo: Trung Nam).

Four groups of work to do

“All contents under the responsibility of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee such as project adjustment, contract negotiation, land fund proposal for BT payment, handover and settlement, and audit must be completed in October 2025,” Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee Nguyen Van Duoc directed strongly at the meeting to remove difficulties for the Ho Chi Minh City Tidal Flooding Solution Project taking into account climate change factors - Phase I (VND 10,000 billion flood prevention project), taking place on August 1.

This drastic direction stems from the fact that the Project has completed more than 90% of the work volume but has been stalled since November 15, 2020. Over the past 5 years, a series of legal problems, especially related to payment for BT (build-transfer) contracts using land funds, have caused the Project to fall into a deadlock.

Hopes of “reviving” the Project only really appeared when the Prime Minister issued Resolution 212/NQ-CP dated July 21, 2025 on handling difficulties and obstacles of the Project. Immediately after that, the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee assigned departments and branches to develop an implementation plan.

Flood control project near

The 10,000 billion VND project started in 2016 and is expected to be completed in 2026.

To date, the project has completed more than 90% of the construction volume but had to temporarily suspend construction since November 2020 due to legal procedures and failure to receive capital disbursement from the bank.

On July 21, the Government issued Resolution 212/NQ-CP with many solutions to remove difficulties, aiming to promote the progress of the Project.

When completed, the Project will control flooding due to high tides for an area of about 570 km², with about 6.5 million people on the right bank of the Saigon River and the center of Ho Chi Minh City.

According to the report of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Finance, in order for the Project to be able to restart, four key work groups must be resolved. The first task is to adjust the total investment and adjust the feasibility study report, with an expected completion time of 2 months.

Next is the negotiation and signing of the BT contract appendix, which also needs to be done within 2 months. The third task is to construct the remaining 10% of the project, with an estimated time of about 1 year. The final task is the final settlement, which will be carried out after the project is completed.

In the expected assignment table, the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee assigned specific tasks to each department and branch. In particular, the two key tasks of negotiating and adjusting the contract appendix and adjusting the feasibility study report were assigned to the Department of Finance. The review of land funds and payment of land funds to investors were assigned to the Department of Agriculture and Environment.

Procedures must be completed by October 2025.

Perhaps the two biggest and most difficult issues, which require a lot of time to negotiate with investors, are the BT land fund payment plan and the adjustment of the total investment. Because after many years of stagnation, the project has incurred huge interest payments. According to calculations by Trung Nam Group (the project investor), the total investment capital has increased from VND 9,976 billion to VND 15,400 billion, of which the interest expense alone as of June 6, 2025 has exceeded VND 2,900 billion, equivalent to more than VND 1.7 billion per day.

The prolonged delay not only increases capital and reduces investment efficiency, but also causes public outrage, as the flooding situation in many central areas has not been completely resolved. Faced with this reality, Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee Nguyen Van Duoc requested that all tasks under the City's responsibility such as adjusting the total investment, negotiating contracts, and proposing land funds for BT payments must be completed by October 2025.

After the departments and branches complete their consultation work, the Standing Committee of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee will review and approve. Next, the City will sign an appendix to the BT contract with the investor to implement the construction, with the goal of completing the project in 2026.

At the meeting on August 1, Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee Nguyen Van Duoc affirmed that the City will resolve all procedures with determination and resoluteness, ensuring that the project will soon come into operation to serve the people, while avoiding any loss, waste or violations.

“After reaching an agreement with the state agency, the investor must immediately start construction. The units have promised, they must do it,” the Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee emphasized, sending a clear message to the investor.

With the direction of the Government in Resolution 212/NQ-CP and close and drastic direction from the leaders of Ho Chi Minh City, the final bottlenecks in the 10,000 billion VND anti-flooding project are showing signs of "revival". If on schedule, by 2026, Ho Chi Minh City will complete the project, contributing to solving the problem of flooding caused by high tides and climate change.

Source: https://baodautu.vn/du-an-chong-ngap-10000-ty-dong-sap-hoi-sinh-d353264.html