On July 21, Lao Dong Newspaper's records at the Xuyen Tam canal renovation project showed that after the site clearance work was basically completed, many houses with triangle and rectangular shapes with very small areas began to appear along both banks of the canal.
Some houses are only from more than 2 m2 to about 7 m2 but are still renovated by people to be used as residences or for business.
One of the most special houses is located in alley 146/8/44 Vu Tung street (Gia Dinh ward). At noon on July 21, Ms. Le Thi Dieu Hien (58 years old) - a retired teacher - was hiring workers to install additional roofs to reduce the heat for a house of about 4.5m2 - the remaining area after most of the land was recovered for the project.
The house is triangular. The ground floor is only enough to arrange a toilet and a staircase to the attic. The attic of more than 2m2 is where Ms. Hien and her husband sleep and live.
Ms. Hien said that her family was recovered about 10m2 of land and received compensation of about 560 million VND. After clearance, the remaining land is only about 4.5m2.
According to Ms. Hien, the government once mobilized to hand over the remaining area outside the project boundary. If agreed, the family will receive an additional compensation of about 150 million VND and be able to buy a resettlement apartment.
However, with the apartment price of more than 2 billion VND and having to pay in one installment, she did not have enough financial capacity.
I am a retired teacher, I cannot manage such a large amount of money. I once asked to borrow from the bank, but each month I have to pay about 15 million VND in principal and interest, so I have to accept it" - Ms. Hien shared.
Not meeting the conditions to buy a resettlement house, and not wanting to rent a room, she asked the local authorities for permission to repair the remaining land to continue living. The construction cost of the house is nearly 300 million VND.
Although the house is very cramped and hot during the day, Ms. Hien said that this is still the only place of residence for the family.
Having a place to shelter from rain and sun is already good news. Later, when the canal road is completed, I hope to be able to take advantage of the front to do small business and earn extra income" - Ms. Hien said.
Just over 10m away from Ms. Hien's house is another even smaller house, with an area of just over 2m2, built with two floors. Seen from the outside, the building looks more like a wall than a house. Inside, there is only enough space for minimum use, and air conditioning is installed outside.
On the opposite bank, in alley 153 Dien Bien Phu, a row of about 9 houses was also repaired by people after most of the area was cleared.
The row of houses is nestled between a residential alley and the Xuyen Tam canal project construction site. The two houses at the beginning of the row are only about 7m2, while the remaining houses have an area of about 10 to more than 20m2.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Thu Trang (49 years old) is renting a house of about 7m2 to sell soft drinks and food.
According to Ms. Trang, the homeowner has received compensation and moved to a new residence. The remaining area has been renovated for rent at a price of about 8 million VND per month.
Due to its too small area, the house is only enough for tables, refrigerators and a processing area. The upper floor is mainly used to store things, and the water truck must be placed outside the alley.
Currently, the area on the side of the house has not been constructed, so it is used to arrange tables and chairs to serve customers. Ms. Trang said that when the project is implemented in this area, the front space will be handed over, and the shop will switch to the form of selling away.
The Xuyen Tam canal renovation project has recovered land from 2,190 cases, including 1,293 cases of full clearance and 897 cases of partial clearance.
The project is expected to be completed by the end of 2027 or early 2028.
