On the afternoon of May 15, at a regular press conference, a representative of Thu Duc City People's Committee said that they are urgently deploying a series of urgent solutions to respond to the frequent heavy flooding situation around Thu Duc market.
According to the People's Committee of Thu Duc City, there will be many urgent projects implemented from now until the end of the year to improve the drainage capacity of the area.
The project to renovate the drainage system in Thu Duc market area (on Duong Van Cam, Dang Thi Ranh, Kha Van Can and Ho Van Tu streets) is in the bidding phase, expected to be constructed in the fourth quarter of 2025.
At the same time, the project to build a new Rach Cau Ngang culvert (replacing the old bridge on Kha Van Can street) has been started since May 2025, and is currently in the final stages of construction. The project is expected to be completed in September 2025, contributing to increasing drainage capacity for the upstream of Cau Ngang canal.
In addition, the project to upgrade the road surface and alley of Tam Xa (including the main route and two alleys 14, 57) is also preparing to enter the bidding stage, expected to be constructed in July and completed in October 2025.
Regarding long-term solutions, Thu Duc City People's Committee is preparing a Report proposing the investment policy for a drainage system along Ngoc Thuy ditch (Truong Tho ward) with a total estimated capital of about 85.7 billion VND. The project will share part of the water basin on Vo Van Ngan Street, exit to Nha Tra Canal and then onto Thu Duc Canal.
In particular, the People's Committee of Thu Duc City is proposing that the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Construction soon prepare a Report proposing the investment policy for the project to build embankments, renovate and dredge Thu Duc canal combined with a "huge" pumping station with a capacity of 120,000 m3/hour.
The project is expected to have a total investment of up to VND 5,173 billion, which will be a strategic solution to reduce the amount of water flowing into Thu Duc market and increase the ability to drain water to the Saigon River.
The heavy rain on the morning of May 10 caused a series of roads around Thu Duc market such as Le Van Ninh, Kha Van Can, Duong Van Cam... to be submerged in water. Some points also recorded the phenomenon of sewer covers being blown away due to the high water pressure.
Notably, the drainage system in this area has been invested with more than 248 billion VND and has only been in use for more than a year. Similarly, To Ngoc Van Street, located near the railway line, was also seriously flooded despite the completion of a flood prevention project with a budget of more than 154 billion VND.
According to the People's Committee of Thu Duc City, the cause of serious flooding in the Thu Duc market area is due to the low terrain - like a "basin" that collects water from many directions.
Many works are still unfinished, some drainage routes are concentrated to Thu Duc market, while Thu Duc canal, the main drainage route to Saigon river, has not been renovated or dredged. The current status of the canals is silted up by soil, sand, garbage, water hyacinth and weeds, seriously reducing the ability to store and drain water.
At the intersection between Kha Van Can Street and Cau Ngang Canal - considered a "bottleneck" - the flow is narrowed to only about 5.3m, causing the amount of rainwater to not be able to drain into Thu Duc Canal in time, causing deep flooding.
In addition, the rapid urbanization in recent years has caused the area of natural, water-absorbing land to be almost completely replaced by concrete. This makes it impossible for the amount of rainwater to penetrate into the soil, concentrating it all into the drainage system that is already overloaded, increasing the risk of severe flooding.
