In the middle days of January, the atmosphere along canal A41 (section from Tran Quoc Hoan connecting road to Cong Hoa road) becomes much busier.
People are busy cleaning and repairing houses as hundreds of houses that were once deep in small alleys have now "transformed" into front houses.
Ms. Mai Thi Hoa's family (55 years old) is one of the households that clearly benefits from the project. Her 3-story house, which was originally located in an alley, has now become a roadside house.
Very happy. Previously, traveling was difficult, now the road is wide, transportation is convenient, and the value of the house has increased many times. I plan that when the road is opened to traffic, I will rent the ground floor for business, and each month I will also have a significant income," Ms. Hoa shared.
Sharing the same joy, Mr. Mai Van Thanh (60 years old), living nearby, said he is hiring workers to renovate the facade to open a store. “Previously, living next to the polluted canal, now the area has completely changed, clean and airy. Looking at the newly formed road, many times I can't believe it” - Mr. Thanh said.
According to records, the section of canal A41 from Giai Phong street to alley 108 Cong Hoa has completed the installation of box culverts, and above is the 4-lane road basically formed.
Workers are compacting the roadbed, preparing to pave asphalt; the sidewalk bundle has been installed, waiting for sidewalk bricks to be paved. Although not completely completed, people can already travel by motorbike through this section.
Notably, the section from Giai Phong street to Ba Vi street has been asphalted, many cars parked on both sides of the road, motorbikes passing by bustlingly. If not introduced, few people would have imagined that under the road surface was once a polluted canal that has lasted for many years.
Some remaining sections such as the beginning of the Tran Quoc Hoan connecting road or the section from alley 108 to alley 124 Cong Hoa are being urgently completed.
Canal A41 is about 2 km long, including two branches originating from the drainage culverts of Tan Son Nhat airport, connecting in the Giai Phong road area, then leading water to Cong Hoa road and connecting to the underground drainage system, draining to the Nhieu Loc - Thi Nghe canal.
Previously, due to shrinking, accumulated waste, and reduced drainage capacity of the canal, Tan Son Nhat airport often faced the risk of heavy flooding every time it rained heavily.
The A41 canal renovation project was approved by Ho Chi Minh City in 2016, with a total capital of about 560 billion VND.
The project affected 142 cases, including 135 households and 7 organizations; of which compensation and site clearance costs were nearly 400 billion VND, and construction costs were more than 160 billion VND.
However, due to site clearance problems, the project was officially started in December 2024.
According to the design, the section from Ut Tich street to Giai Phong street installs double box culverts with dimensions of 2.5 x 2.5 m; the section from Giai Phong street to Phan Thuc Duyen street includes two canal branches, installing single box culverts of the same size.
Above is a 12 m wide road, sidewalks 4 m on each side, combined with lighting and greenery.
The Tan Binh District Construction Investment Project Management Board (the investor) said that to date, the total construction volume has reached more than 80%.
Contractors are accelerating the progress of completing roadbed, sidewalks and lighting systems, striving to open the road on the canal in the first quarter of 2026, and complete the entire project in the second quarter of 2026.
When completed, the project will not only improve drainage capacity, reduce the risk of flooding for Tan Son Nhat airport but also contribute to urban embellishment, improve the living environment and open up a new traffic axis, convenient for people's travel in the area.
