On August 4, Chairman of Hanoi People's Committee Vu Dai Thang chaired a meeting to listen to reports on ensuring drainage and flood control in the city; progress of completing urgent public investment projects in the field of drainage.
Hanoi's drainage infrastructure only meets 20% of the plan
At the meeting, Deputy Director of Hanoi Department of Construction Truong Hai Long reported on the progress and results of the implementation of 10 urgent construction projects to solve the flooding situation in the city.
By August 3, Hanoi had basically put into operation the main items of 10 urgent construction projects to solve the flooding situation in the area.
Those are 5 regulating lakes (Phu Do, Dong Bong 2, Yen Nghia 1, Yen Nghia 2, Thuy Phuong) and 5 drainage system projects (renovation of downstream Kim Nguu; renovation of Thuy Phuong canal connecting To Lich river; renovation of pumping station and drainage system in Thang Long Avenue area; flood treatment in Ngoai Giao Doan - Resco Ecohome - Tay Ho Tay area; supplementation of water level regulation pumping station in To Lich river area). Investors and contractors are focusing on construction and completing the remaining items to soon complete the entire project.
Besides the achieved results, the city still has some localized flooding points due to the unsynchronized drainage system, the impact of ongoing projects or low-lying terrain.
The City People's Committee has requested relevant units to urgently overcome and complete the works, strengthen the operation of the system, maintain, dredge and organize 100% duty forces during the rainy and storm season.
Speaking to clarify related contents, Director of Hanoi Department of Construction Nguyen Phi Thuong said that after heavy rain due to storm circulation in 2025, Hanoi recorded 220 flooding points, including 160 points in 35 wards.
Emergency projects directly affect about 120 flooded points and initially bring clear results. Many areas that were previously frequently deeply and prolongedly flooded such as Thang Long Avenue, Ngoai Giao Doan, Resco Ecohome, Ciputra, Vo Chi Cong, My Dinh... are now basically no longer flooded or only locally flooded for a short time; flooding time, depth and flooding scope have all decreased significantly.
Mr. Nguyen Phi Thuong said that it is understandable that people expect an investment capital of about 5,600 billion VND to completely solve the city's flooding situation, but in reality, emergency projects only solve part of the problem.
The current drainage system only meets about 20% of the planning approved since 2013, while actual requirements have changed due to the speed of urbanization and the increasing impact of climate change.
Many flood control projects have shown clear effectiveness.
Speaking to direct at the meeting, Chairman of the City People's Committee Vu Dai Thang emphasized that in just about 6 months, a series of flood control projects have been implemented and put into operation.
Through heavy rains from the beginning of the 2026 rainy season, many flood control works have shown clear effectiveness, contributing to reducing flooding time, reducing flooding depth and protecting many areas that were once "hot spots" of flooding.
However, localized flooding still occurs in some places, including in the inner city, showing that the drainage system is still not really synchronized. The process of urbanization, the implementation of construction projects and extreme weather diễn biến have also generated many new flooding points.
Regarding tasks for the coming time, Chairman of the City People's Committee Vu Dai Thang requested to stop the passive situation in flood prevention and control. In which, local authorities must proactively review points at risk of flooding, prepare sufficient vehicles, equipment, mobile pumping stations and on-duty forces to be ready to handle immediately when heavy rain occurs, without waiting for instructions to be deployed.
Emphasizing the great expectations of the people for flood control projects, the Chairman of the City People's Committee said that functional agencies must improve their responsibility, not allowing the situation of large investments but ineffectiveness not being fully propagated and explained. The city will publicize investment results according to each project, clearly identify areas that have been overcome, areas that are still being invested in and the completion roadmap for people to supervise.
The Chairman of the City People's Committee requested the Department of Construction and related units to urgently complete all ongoing projects, accelerate the progress of 12 key drainage projects that have been allocated capital and complete investment procedures. For projects that no longer have site clearance problems, investors must focus on construction, not to delay progress.
The Chairman of the City People's Committee also requested to soon complete the overall project on flood control associated with the 100-year vision of the Capital's overall plan, and submit it to the city in September.
In particular, for the direction of building a "sponge city", the Department of Construction needs to soon concretize it into technical standards, construction regulations and application solutions in urban development projects.
Chairman Vu Dai Thang also proposed to integrate the AI camera system of the City Police with the drainage monitoring system to detect flooding points early, support operation, and handle them promptly when heavy rain occurs, instead of just receiving feedback from people.
Departments, branches, and localities strictly implement the assigned tasks, closely coordinate in operating the drainage system and preventing and combating flooding, strive to minimize the impact of storms and floods, and ensure the lives and activities of people in the 2026 rainy season," Chairman Vu Dai Thang requested.
