According to Mr. Nguyen Van Tinh - Commander of the Can Tho City Library construction project, these 14 trees are mainly yellow hospitals, aged for decades, planted to create shade in the area in front of the old Library, located along Phan Dinh Phung and Ngo Gia Tu streets (Tan An ward, Ninh Kieu district).
Mr. Nguyen Van Tinh said that the location of the trees is directly entangled in the area where the stakes need to be pressed, making it impossible for the contractor to carry out essential work. According to Mr. Tinh, the project has started construction for nearly 4 months but is still stuck with green trees, which affects the project's progress.
Mr. Nguyen Hoang Tung - Deputy Director of the Department of Construction of Can Tho City - explained that the initially approved budget of the Can Tho City Construction Investment Project Management Board (investor) does not have funds for relocation and maintenance of existing trees. Mr. Tung commented that this is a consequence of the design consulting unit not covering all the tasks.
Can Tho City Construction Investment Project Management Board informed that this project was previously invested by the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, and after being approved by the Can Tho City People's Committee, it was transferred to the Can Tho City Construction Investment Project Management Board as the investor. Therefore, in the total investment of the project, there is no cost of relocating trees...
To resolve the issue, the Department of Construction has submitted to the People's Committee of Can Tho City a detailed plan and estimate for the relocation and maintenance of trees. Accordingly, the total cost of relocating 14 ancient trees is 153.9 million VND. This amount of money will be adjusted into compensation costs in the total investment structure, but does not change the total investment of the project approved by competent authorities.
Previously, in February 2025, Mr. Nguyen Thuc Hien - Vice Chairman of Can Tho City People's Committee - chaired a meeting to find a way to solve this difficulty. The Can Tho City Construction Investment Project Management Board has prepared a plan and estimated the cost of relocation and maintenance of trees, and submitted it to the competent authority for consideration and approval in accordance with regulations.
Currently, the Department of Construction of Can Tho City is waiting for the City People's Committee to approve the adjustment of the investment policy decision.
The Can Tho City Library construction investment project, with a total investment of nearly 150 billion VND, officially started construction at the end of February 2025 on Phan Dinh Phung Street, Tan An Ward, Ninh Kieu District.
Can Tho City Library is built on an area of nearly 2,500 m2, including the expanded land from the Department of Foreign Affairs. The project has a scale of 7 floors and a roof, with a modern design, meeting the needs of about 800 people at the same time.
In which, the basement includes an exhibition area, event organizer, cinema, bookstore. The first floor includes the main hall combined with exhibition, event organization, and book coffee. The 3rd - 5th floors include a common reading room, a bookcase and a document processing area. The library is capable of containing at least 950,000 books on 1,500 shelves, with a total of 1,000 seats.
