The 10,000 billion VND anti-flooding project is about to be "revived"

Regarding the project to solve flooding caused by tides in the Ho Chi Minh City area taking into account climate change factors - phase 1 (10,000 billion VND anti-flooding project), recently, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Finance has sent a report to the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee, proposing many contents to remove the "bottleneck" of using land fund to pay for the project.

The 10,000 billion VND anti-flooding project is about to be "revived". Photo: QUOC HUNG

The 10,000 billion VND flood prevention project was started in 2016 under the form of public-private partnership (PPP) - BT (build-transfer) contract, payment by land fund.

The project aims to control flooding due to high tides for an area of ​​570 km² with about 6.5 million people on the right bank of the Saigon River and the center of Ho Chi Minh City. However, the project has been suspended since the end of 2020 due to problems in land fund payment and BT contract adjustment.

Following the direction of the Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee, a Working Group was established to review land funds for payment and adjust BT contracts, in order to remove obstacles for the project.

According to the report, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Finance believes that the land at 420 No Trang Long, Binh Loi Trung ward has enough basis to be included in BT contract negotiations.

In case the city agrees to use this land for payment, the Land Fund Development Center requests the investor to commit to cover the compensation, relocation and interest costs. This content has been agreed by the investor, the members of the Working Group also agreed to use the land to pay for the BT contract according to the document dated September 16 of the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Ho Chi Minh City.

The land at 257 Tran Hung Dao, Cau Ong Lanh ward is now also sufficient to negotiate a BT contract.

Previously, the city approved the payment policy for this land for another BT project, which has now ended. Therefore, the members of the Working Group agreed to use it to pay for the 10,000 billion VND anti-flooding project. In addition, the Working Group recommended that the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee assign the Department of Agriculture and Environment to coordinate with other departments and branches to establish procedures to reclaim this land according to regulations.

The Banana Canal Sluice has been completed but cannot be put into operation. Photo: QUOC HUNG

According to the HCM City Department of Finance, the Working Group believes that the 10,000 billion VND flood prevention project must be paid for with land funds according to the principle of parity. In case at the time of settlement there is a difference between the value of the BT project and the value of the land fund, then the difference will be paid in cash.

Therefore, the Working Group proposed 3 more land plots, including land plot at 232 Do Xuan Hop, 762 Binh Quoi and land plot in lot C8A, area A - New urban area South of Ho Chi Minh City, Tan My ward to pay for the BT contract of the above project.

According to the Center Land fund development , the total value of 5 land plots proposed to be paid to investors of the 10,000 billion VND flood prevention project is about 8,099 billion VND, accounting for 81.1% of the BT project value when the total investment has not been adjusted and these land plots have not adjusted the planning indicators.

In addition, the Working Group also believes that the adjustment to replace ineligible land funds for payment as directed by the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee with other land funds, specifically the land plot at 420 No Trang Long and the land plot at 257 Tran Hung Dao, is in accordance with Resolution 40/NQ-CP dated April 1, 2021 of the Government and the opinions of relevant ministries and branches, the direction of Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Hoa Binh as well as Resolution 212/NQ-CP dated July 21, 2025 of the Government. At the same time, this is consistent with the principle of determining the value of the land fund expected to be paid for the BT project as stipulated in Decree No. 257/2025/ND-CP dated October 8, 2025 of the Government. In case of arising related contents, the Working Group will negotiate with the investor.

The Department of Finance said that in order to completely resolve the problems arising during the negotiation process, the members of the Working Group requested the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee to approve the addition of two land plots at 420 No Trang Long and 257 Tran Hung Dao to the BT contract appendix. At the same time, the Working Group was assigned to negotiate with the investor to complete the appendix content, and submit it to the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee to seek the opinion of the Standing Committee of the Party Committee of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee before signing.

Regarding this, on October 24, the project enterprise representative sent a document to the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee, in which he affirmed to maintain the proposed land funds included in the BT contract appendix.

Of these, 5 plots of land have been signed in BT contracts with the city. The investor also agreed to add 4 plots of land that have received comments from the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Ho Chi Minh City. In addition, the investor also agreed to receive the land at 420 No Trang Long and the land at 257 Tran Hung Dao.

If the newly agreed plan is soon approved by the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee, it will be the final step for the 10,000 billion VND anti-flooding project to "revive" after more than 5 years of interruption, opening up the hope of fundamentally solving the tidal flooding situation that has lasted for many years in Ho Chi Minh City. This is the bottleneck that has caused the project to be "shelved", causing waste and social outrage in recent times.

QUOC HUNG

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/du-an-chong-ngap-10000-ty-dong-sap-duoc-hoi-sinh-post820068.html