HCMC 'super' anti-flooding project in limbo over contract extension disagreements

A VND10 trillion ($424 million) anti-flooding project in Ho Chi Minh City has been suspended since 2018 due to disagreements regarding contract extension between local authorities and the investor.

Invested by Trung Nam BT 1547 Company, a subsidiary of Trungnam Group, the project aims to manage high tide flooding and respond to climate change effects over an area of 570 square meters to the right bank of Saigon River and downtown HCMC, home to 6.5 million people.

It includes six tide-controlling sluices and a 7.8-kilometer dyke along Saigon River, covering districts 1, 4, 7, 8, Nha Be and Binh Chanh.

Started in mid-2016, the project was supposed to finish in April 2018, but it had to be suspended from Febraury 2018 to late 2020 as the municipal People's Committee did not approve contract extension.

As the build-transfer contract expired in June 2020, banks could not extend the disbursement duration for the project.

Therefore, Trung Nam BT 1547 Company has proposed Ho Chi Minh City authorities soon work with the State Bank of Vietnam to seek a solution to this problem.

According to the investor, the project saw nine works 85-97% completed, while construction on the others ceased.

"It is really a huge waste as thousands of billions of Vietnamese dong are now buried in piles of equipment,” it said.

Inspecting the tide-controlling sluices on Saturday, Vice Chairman of the city Bui Xuan Cuong believed that the project may be completed soon as cleared land becomes available and banks agree to extend the duration for project disbursement.