Ho Chi Minh City is determined to give its canals and waterways a "new look".

Ho Chi Minh City is planning to relocate tens of thousands of houses along rivers, canals, and waterways to improve urban infrastructure, enhance living conditions, and address climate change. However, despite the city's strong commitment, many challenges remain regarding resettlement, livelihoods, and ensuring the rights of residents.

According to a survey by the Ho Chi Minh City Institute for Development Research, the city currently has 34,712 houses located on or along rivers, canals, and waterways. Notably, only about a quarter of these houses have legal construction permits, while as many as 73.5% were built without permits.

For many years, the issue of dilapidated housing along rivers, canals, and waterways has been one of Ho Chi Minh City's most challenging problems. Along the Doi Canal, Te Canal, Ong Lon Canal, and many smaller canals throughout the city, thousands of makeshift houses are crammed together, many built on wooden stilts with old corrugated iron roofs, and with severely degraded infrastructure. Whenever high tides or prolonged heavy rains occur, many areas are deeply flooded, with foul-smelling, black water and floating garbage. This not only affects urban aesthetics but also causes environmental pollution, obstructs water flow, and poses a potential safety risk to residents.

Despite several phases of relocating houses along canals and waterways, this issue remains unresolved.

Many makeshift houses built on wooden stilts are in danger of collapsing into the Te Canal.

According to the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Construction, from 1993 to 2025, the city has undergone six phases of urban renovation, relocating approximately 44,338 houses located on and along canals and waterways belonging to four main routes and many tributaries. Specifically, for the 2021-2025 period, the plan was to relocate 6,500 houses, but by the end of 2025, only 5,378 had been relocated. This shows that the progress is still slow compared to the requirements, while a large number of houses along canals and waterways remain.

To fundamentally address this issue, according to the Resolution of the First Congress of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee, term 2025-2030, the city aims to relocate approximately 20,000 houses located on and along rivers, canals, and waterways by the end of 2030.

In early May, leaders of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Council and People's Committee continuously conducted on-site surveys in many localities to accelerate the progress of the project.

In the Nha Be area, a review has identified approximately 2,540 houses and land plots along canals and waterways that need to be demolished for urban renovation and the development of public spaces along the river. Through field surveys along several major canals, the city's task force determined that nearly 300 houses encroaching on canals and waterways are in urgent need of immediate demolition. The majority are temporary, spontaneously constructed houses with severely dilapidated structures and inadequate safety features. This situation not only obstructs water flow and pollutes the environment but also directly threatens the lives of residents. The urgent relocation of these households aims to restore drainage space and, most importantly, protect the lives and property of residents from the imminent risk of landslides.

In the Bình Đông, Chánh Hưng, and Phú Định wards, this area has been identified as the "core" of the urban renovation project for residential areas along and near rivers, canals, and streams in the 2025-2030 period. This area alone has approximately 15,708 houses that need to be relocated, accounting for over 65% of the total number of houses to be demolished citywide.

According to Mr. Huynh Thanh Khiet, Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Construction, the goal by 2030 is to relocate at least 20,000 houses located on and along rivers, canals, and streams, focusing on key routes such as the Doi Canal, Te Canal, and Ong Lon Stream. The city plans to implement 44 projects, including 40 projects using budget funds and 4 projects funded through social mobilization, totaling approximately 23,429 houses. Of these, 21 projects will be implemented in Binh Dong, Chanh Hung, and Phu Dinh wards alone, with an estimated total investment of approximately 99,474.6 billion VND.

However, what particularly concerns the city is not only the progress of land clearance but also the welfare of tens of thousands of affected households. Survey results show that 65.7% of households want to receive compensation at market value instead of resettlement apartments; 21.2% want to be resettled with land plots, townhouses, or apartments, mainly 2-3 bedroom apartments, and prefer on-site resettlement; 13.1% request consideration for ensuring adequate rights during the implementation of compensation, support, and resettlement policies.

In addition to compensation, residents also desire post-relocation support: 19.6% need assistance with moving, 14.4% need temporary housing assistance, and 13% want to buy or rent-to-own social housing. Many households also wish to access preferential loans for business ventures, job changes, or to compensate for lost income.

This shows that people are not only concerned about compensation but also worried about finances, long-term livelihoods, the quality of their new homes, and the ability to maintain community relationships after relocation.

The dilapidated makeshift houses along the Te Canal.

Many experts believe that if only the issue of land clearance is addressed without adequately considering the lives of people after resettlement, it can easily lead to negative social consequences. In the past, thousands of resettlement apartments were built but left abandoned in the former Vinh Loc B commune due to their remote location, lack of infrastructure, and unsuitability for the living needs of people living along canals and waterways. Learning from that experience, Ho Chi Minh City now prioritizes thorough research and ensuring that people are not disadvantaged during the relocation process.

Speaking at a meeting with local authorities, Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Council Vo Van Minh emphasized that the implementation of the project must ensure the synchronization of objectives, not only improving the environment but also paying special attention to social welfare.

According to Mr. Vo Van Minh, only when people see clear, long-term benefits and have high levels of consensus can the land clearance process be carried out smoothly.

City leaders emphasized that compensation and land clearance should be considered a crucial step determining the progress of the entire project. Simultaneously, the Party Secretaries and Chairmen of wards and communes must directly supervise and closely coordinate with relevant departments and agencies to resolve any arising difficulties.

Simultaneously, Ho Chi Minh City is urgently preparing a fund of resettlement housing and social housing to serve people after relocation. According to the Department of Construction, the city plans to convert approximately 20 projects with nearly 11,000 apartments from resettlement housing to social housing to increase the supply for people affected by land clearance along canals and waterways. In addition, the city is also implementing 9 resettlement and social housing development projects in key areas.

For the Van Thanh Canal dredging, environmental improvement, and infrastructure construction project (Thanh My Tay ward), the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee has approved the use of 70 apartments at the 283 Le Quang Dinh Apartment Building (Gia Dinh ward) to serve as resettlement housing for residents.

In addition to preparing housing funds, the city is also studying various specific mechanisms to accelerate the implementation of the project, such as shortening investment procedures, allowing parallel implementation of compensation and project planning, adjusting land use coefficients, strongly developing social housing, and attracting strategic investors to participate in urban renovation.

One of the solutions proposed by many delegates is to apply BT (Build-Transfer) contracts to mobilize social resources to participate in urban renovation projects along canals and waterways, reducing pressure on the state budget. Regarding the 9 projects assigned by the City People's Committee for investment preparation, the Department of Construction proposed that 4 out of 9 projects should be implemented for social housing construction through socialized investment (without using public investment capital), and 5 out of 9 social housing projects for resettlement should be implemented through public investment.

The Ho Chi Minh City Institute for Development Research also recommended that the city should focus on implementing key riverside, canal, and waterway renovation projects in a coordinated manner, avoiding scattered, prolonged investments or a lack of connectivity between localities.

With strong political determination and a series of solutions being implemented, Ho Chi Minh City hopes to gradually eliminate dilapidated housing areas along rivers, canals, and waterways, restoring unobstructed water flow to the urban area; and building a civilized and safe living environment for its people.

Source: https://cand.com.vn/Xa-hoi/tp-ho-chi-minh-quyet-tam-thay-ao-moi-cho-kenh-rach--i804516/