Voter Doan Thi Kim Cuc (Tan Thuan ward) suggested that the authorities need to give a definitive answer about the fate of the project: "I hope the National Assembly will pay attention and clearly affirm whether to do or not to do it. If the 10,000 billion VND project is left unfinished, it would be a waste, while the city's people are still suffering from flooding."
This is a representative of the voice of voters in Ho Chi Minh City.
This question has been asked many times with many concerns, worries and expectations. From 2020 to present, at each meeting, voters have asked when the project will be completed and put into use.
Heavy rain causes flooding, people suffer, affecting their lives, activities, and economic damage. While the 10,000 billion VND flood prevention project is exposed to the sun and rain.
There have been many meetings, many answers, many commitments to remove difficulties and obstacles so that the project can be completed soon, but until now, everything is still the same.
Mr. Nguyen Hoang Anh Dung - Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Urban Infrastructure Construction Investment Project Management Board - said that the flood prevention project has completed 92% of the construction volume.
The immediate goal is to complete the two large sluices of Ben Nghe and Muong Chuoi, then complete all six sluices to put them into use in 2026.
Not to mention the percentage of completion, people clearly see that the project has not been put into operation yet, and the flooding is still complete.
People do not care about the numbers on paper, but the reality on the ground. In fact, the flood prevention project has been put into operation, a large area of Ho Chi Minh City is no longer flooded.
This meeting, voters once again hope.
The project started in 2016, if it is put into use in 2026 as Mr. Nguyen Hoang Anh Dung said, it will take 10 years.
However, it is not known whether this is a final commitment or not, the managers have promised many times, and voters have been disappointed many times.
Mr. Phan Van Mai - Chairman of the National Assembly's Economic and Financial Committee, former Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee - frankly admitted that he had promised this project "no less than three times" during meetings with voters.
The flood prevention project with the goal of controlling flooding for 570km2 and protecting 6.5 million residents along the Saigon River, which has been "frozen" for several years, is a huge waste. The damage caused by flooding alone cannot be fully calculated.
Respond to voters about when to complete and fulfill the commitment.
