Using 'suspended' projects as parks, people support

The announcement by Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Tran Luu Quang about the Party Committee's policy of turning two prime lands, Nha Rong Wharf and No. 1 Ly Thai To, into parks and cultural spaces has received much support from people everywhere.

Nha Rong - Khanh Hoi port area is expected to become Ho Chi Minh Cultural Space, park and expansion of Nguyen Tat Thanh street - Photo: PHUONG NHI

The above information was given by Mr. Quang at the conference summarizing 50 years of literature and arts in Ho Chi Minh City on October 18.

Priority given to parks and cultural facilities

The Standing Committee of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee plans that the Nha Rong - Khanh Hoi port area, which is connected to the Nha Rong - Ho Chi Minh Museum wharf, will be partly used to organize the Ho Chi Minh Cultural Space. The remaining area will be used as a park, to expand Nguyen Tat Thanh Street and to develop other public services.

The land plot at 1 Ly Thai To will soon be converted into a park as there is an investor for this project. In this park, the city plans to build a monument to commemorate people who died from COVID-19 in Ho Chi Minh City.

"The city has requested the investor's architect to design this park in a multi-functional direction - where cultural and artistic activities can take place," said Mr. Quang.

At the conference summarizing 50 years of literature and arts in Ho Chi Minh City, Mr. Quang also affirmed the city's policy of prioritizing the development of parks and public spaces to create places for cultural activities.

"It's not just remote areas that lack public space, but even in the central area of ​​Ho Chi Minh City, there is no space for small public activities. This is putting a lot of pressure on professional agencies and the government... In the process of arranging the headquarters of state agencies, projects like this are in the priority group after schools and hospitals...", Mr. Quang affirmed.

Land plot No. 1 Ly Thai To is expected to become a park, including a memorial statue for people who died from the COVID-19 epidemic in Ho Chi Minh City - Photo: PHUONG NHI

Soon turn public land and grounds into parks

In recent times, many large areas of public land have been used inefficiently, or even abandoned for many years, while Ho Chi Minh City is lacking public space. This paradox is actually caused by policy changes and legal problems over many periods.

The two land plots of Nha Rong - Khanh Hoi port and land plot No. 1 Ly Thai To are typical examples of the above situation. As Secretary Tran Luu Quang informed about the land plot of Nha Rong - Khanh Hoi port, "the economic value of the project is very large but it is related to legal issues and old projects so it needs time to be resolved".

In addition, Ho Chi Minh City has overcome difficulties and turned many areas of land into parks and public spaces. Typically, since the beginning of 2024, the Department of Construction has proposed to build six more parks with a total area of ​​about 800 hectares.

Among them, the Saigon River Park project has gradually taken shape with many construction items and has become a tourist destination for the city's residents associated with entertainment, festival and cultural activities.

Next to it is the ecological park area of ​​more than 128 hectares in the new urban area of ​​Thu Thiem which is also being kept intact as planned. Or the 150-hectare park project in Thoi An ward due to many problems has been "suspended" for 24 years, but now it is determined to speed up the implementation progress. Recently, the resolution of the Thoi An ward Party Congress has set the goal of coordinating with functional departments to soon implement.

In early October 2025, in Trung My Tay ward, the groundbreaking ceremony for Tan Chanh Hiep park (Tan Chanh Hiep fish pond area) with an area of ​​1.69 hectares also took place. In early September, the Tan Thanh Tay park project (Phu Hoa Dong commune) was inaugurated by the Ho Chi Minh City Urban Infrastructure Construction Investment Project Management Board 2.5 months earlier than expected.

Need adequate public space

During the term of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Congress 2025 - 2030, Ho Chi Minh City strives to be in the top 100 livable cities by 2030. In which, the city sets specific targets for trees, parks, cultural and artistic institutions... for the people.

Talking to Tuoi Tre about the policy of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee to use two prime lands as parks, Architect Khuong Van Muoi - former Vice President of the Vietnam Association of Architects - said that currently the Ho Chi Minh Museum at Nha Rong Wharf is quite small, not enough space for many large groups of visitors to visit at the same time, lacks parking space and most importantly, space to arrange traditional education activities for young people when visiting here. Therefore, it is very necessary to expand the Ho Chi Minh Cultural Space towards the Nha Rong - Khanh Hoi port area.

"Moreover, using the area of ​​the port area to expand Nguyen Tat Thanh Street - which is often congested - is very reasonable and effective. Besides, using the land area attached to the river frontage to create a public space associated with cultural, artistic and festival activities... is very reasonable for Ho Chi Minh City," said Mr. Muoi.

Regarding the land plot No. 1 Ly Thai To, researcher Nguyen Dinh Dau once pointed out that this land plot is a part of a green strip and low-rise buildings of Ho Chi Minh City from Thi Nghe (Zoo and Botanical Garden) through Le Duan Street, to Independence Palace, along Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Street to Ly Thai To Street to get wind from the sea deep into the inner city. Architect Khuong Van Muoi also said that the land plot associated with this green space must be retained, so the city's policy of making a park is reasonable.

"This park should retain ancient villas as display houses, exhibitions related to victims of the COVID-19 epidemic as well as organize other cultural and service activities...", Mr. Muoi suggested.

Architect Ngo Anh Vu - Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Institute of Construction Planning - also said that the project of Ho Chi Minh City Cultural Space as well as the park in the Nha Rong - Khanh Hoi port area is a highly anticipated project.

This location is very convenient for expanding the park space on both sides of the Saigon River, in addition to being a green space, it is also a space for performances, festivals, culture, art, and services for people and tourists nationwide.

"Here, the city can build a pedestrian bridge connecting to the other side of the river, which is Thu Thiem Square in Ho Chi Minh City. This park needs to organize space, including underground space, to maximize the time and frequency of use associated with the vibrant life of the community, while exploiting the land most effectively.

Information about using land in the city center to create cultural spaces and parks has met the expectations of the city's residents," said Mr. Vu.

The Nha Rong - Khanh Hoi port area, which is connected to Nha Rong wharf - Ho Chi Minh Museum, will be used to organize the Ho Chi Minh Cultural Space, park and expand Nguyen Tat Thanh street - Photo: TTD

Developing more green areas, but building parks is still slow

Ho Chi Minh City in the period of 2020 - 2025 has determined the target to be achieved as increasing 10 hectares of public green space, planting and renovating 30,000 trees, increasing 150 hectares of public park land, and increasing the area of ​​public parks per capita by 0.65 square meters per person (estimated population size of 10 million people).

From the beginning of the 2021 term to the end of 2024, statistics show that Ho Chi Minh City has had an additional 237.5 hectares of public parks, an increase of 158% compared to the set target; developed an additional 54 hectares of public green space, reaching 540% of the target; planted and renovated 42,534 trees, reaching 140% of the target.

According to the Public Park and Tree Development Program for the 2020-2025 period, Ho Chi Minh City has developed green areas that have exceeded targets, but the construction of parks in Ho Chi Minh City is still slow.

The exploitation and use of the park also faces difficulties related to regulations on management and use of public assets, making it difficult to organize essential services in the park to serve the needs of people when they come to the park to rest, relax, and exercise, such as parking lots, canteens, vending machines, and other essential services.

History of 2 golden lands "suspended" and abandoned for many years

The Nha Rong - Khanh Hoi port area covers an area of ​​over 31 hectares, and was once managed and used by a unit under the Ministry of Transport (formerly). On this land are mainly factories, offices, warehouses, wharves and some works used by other units.

In 2015, implementing the port relocation policy, Ho Chi Minh City allowed the port area to be converted into a housing project. In 2017, the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee approved a business to implement a housing project on the Nha Rong - Khanh Hoi complex, including a commercial center, 3,116 apartments, a school and a medical station. However, due to legal problems and related projects on the land, the housing project has been "suspended" for nearly 10 years and has not been implemented.

The land plot No. 1 Ly Thai To has three frontages: Ly Thai To - Hung Vuong - Tran Binh Trong. This land plot is about 37,000 square meters wide, inside there are seven old villas that have been abandoned for many years. This land plot used to be the residence of Uncle Hoa's family - the "real estate king" of old Saigon, after 1975 it was used as the Government Guest House.

In 1996, the villa cluster on lot 1 Ly Thai To was included in the list of 108 objects to be researched and preserved in the typical landscape cluster category by the Architectural Landscape Conservation Program.

After that, there were many proposals for handling and using the land (such as joint ventures, associations, auctions...) but they were not implemented, causing this land to be abandoned for many years, and the internal works to be degraded and damaged. Recently, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs transferred the land to the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee for management.

Can Da Nang "redeem" Chi Lang Stadium?

Chi Lang Stadium has been abandoned for many years - Photo: DOAN CUONG

Located right in the city center and once the "fire pan" of Da Nang people, Chi Lang Stadium has been in a state of disrepair for many years, making many people feel sorry.

During many meetings with voters, the city's residents expressed their desire to reclaim this stadium to serve sports activities... Not only that, in the past, the Da Nang government also made moves to "redeem" Chi Lang stadium.

According to the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Da Nang, since 2018, after the verdict took legal effect, through assessment, legal review and practical needs of the government and people, the city has officially sent a document to the Prime Minister stating the wish to request permission to keep Chi Lang Stadium.

At that time, the General Department of Civil Judgment Enforcement, the focal agency directing the enforcement of the above judgments, organized a working session between the relevant parties. However, the Da Nang government and the bank could not find a common voice, so the negotiation failed.

According to this department, the approach is that the city will keep Chi Lang stadium and return the amount that Thien Thanh has paid into the budget, which is more than 1,200 billion VND.

But at the time of negotiation, the bank determined that the entire area of ​​Chi Lang Stadium land had been mortgaged for loans, and the company and Pham Cong Danh had to pay the bank a huge amount. With such a huge difference, the two sides could not agree.

The execution of the judgment related to Chi Lang Stadium encountered difficulties. After that, the central government issued special mechanisms and policies to remove difficulties and obstacles for projects and land in the conclusions of inspections, examinations, and judgments in Da Nang and other localities.

Da Nang Civil Judgment Enforcement Agency said it is organizing the enforcement of the judgment related to the case of Pham Cong Danh and accomplices; the assets securing the enforcement of the judgment include the high-rise commercial and service complex of Chi Lang Stadium.

According to this unit, regarding the auction of land use rights of 14 plots of land (including 10 land use right certificates), because previously when the state management agency divided and separated plots, the location and boundaries of each plot of land had not been determined, the inter-sectoral agreement was to auction all plots of land in their entirety.

The auction winner receives the transfer of rights, the land will be adjusted to "commercial - service land, 50-year term" to comply with the planning.

Love - LE PHAN - DOAN CUONG

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/lay-cac-du-an-treo-lam-cong-vien-nguoi-dan-ung-ho-2025102108072632.htm