HCM CITY — Politburo member and Secretary of HCM City’s Party Committee Đinh La Thăng has asked the contractor for the city’s tidal flood control project to complete construction by April 30, 2018.
He set the date for completion after a fact-finding visit to the project site on Saturday to monitor progress of its first phase.
The first phase, carried out under the build-operate-transfer model, is estimated to cost nearly VNĐ10 trillion (US$450 million).
The project aims to control tidal flooding and to manage other issues related to climate change within the 570sq.km area of HCM City and its population of 6.5 million residing near the Sài Gòn River and the city centre.
Six tide-control gates will be built in Bến Nghé, Tân Thuận, Phú Xuân, Mương Chuối, Cây Khô and Phú Định. Three pumping stations will also be built at Bến Nghé, Tân Thuận and Phú Định gates. Dyke sections totalling 7.8km will be built along the Sài Gòn River.
Thăng praised efforts made by the Trung Nam Group, the project’s contractor, saying that the tidal flood-control project is a key one for the city. It was a large-scale project involving big investments and complicated construction conditions, he said.
He urged the contractor to ensure the quality of the construction, safe working conditions, and effective supervision of construction, and design consulting units working round the clock.
To ensure that the project operates effectively after completion, the municipal People’s Committee should connect it with the anti-flooding project being implemented by the city, Thăng said. This project is also invested in by the Trung Nam Group.
Thăng also asked the city’s Transport Department to manage traffic flow on roads and waterways to assist project construction and facilitate movement of local residents.
Trung Nam chairman Nguyễn Tâm Thịnh pledged that the group will finish the 7.8-km dyke and Bến Nghé gate this year as they prepare to transfer the project to the city in April 2018. — VNS
