Reviving Ho Chi Minh City’s $430 Million Flood Control Project: The Final Step

On October 26th, a source revealed that Trung Nam Group, the investor behind the project, has reached an agreement with Ho Chi Minh City’s Task Force 1970 regarding the addition of land funds to settle the BT contract. This proposal was reported to the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee in Document No. 9688 dated October 17, 2025, and is now awaiting formal approval from the city to finalize the process.

In Document No. 1117 submitted to the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee on October 24, 2025, Trung Nam Group reaffirmed its proposal from Document No. 1098 dated October 16, 2025, listing five land plots included in BT Contract No. 2607:

Zone C8A – Area A, South Ho Chi Minh City Urban Area (Tan My Ward, former District 7), covering 5,500 m²;

Land Plot 232 Do Xuan Hop (Phuoc Long Ward, former Thu Duc City), spanning 17,575 m²;

Land Plot 762 Binh Quoi (Binh Quoi Ward, former Binh Thanh District), measuring 4,298 m²;

Land Plot in Phuoc Long B Ward (Nuclear Center, former Thu Duc City), covering 4.2 hectares;

Land Plot 290 Dao Tri (Phu Thuan Ward, former District 7), spanning 3 hectares.

Additionally, the investor agreed to add four new land plots, which have received approval from the Department of Agriculture and Environment:

Nha Be Commune Residential and Resettlement Area (20.2 hectares);

Nhon Duc – Phuoc Loc Urban Area, Hiep Phuoc and Nha Be Communes (89.6 hectares) – both approved by the City People’s Committee in 2021;

Land Plot 420 No Trang Long (now Vu Ngoc Phan, Binh Loi Trung Ward), covering 14.8 hectares;

Land Plot 257 Tran Hung Dao (Cau Ong Lanh Ward), spanning 2,374 m².

All proposed land plots adhere to the principle of equal value with the BT contract, ensuring compliance with legal regulations.

Trung Nam Group emphasized its full agreement with Task Force 1970’s report, stating: “The addition of land funds is essential to resolve bottlenecks, allowing the project to resume construction, complete, and commence operations.”

Previously, Task Force 1970, established under Decision 1970 by the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee, submitted a proposal to the City People’s Committee regarding land funds for settling the BT contract for the project “Addressing Tidal Flooding in Ho Chi Minh City with Climate Change Considerations (Phase 1).”

In its proposal, Task Force 1970 recommended that the project be settled with land funds based on equal value. Any discrepancies between the BT project’s value and the land funds’ value at the time of settlement would be paid in cash.

The Task Force also proposed adding two new land plots (420 No Trang Long and 257 Tran Hung Dao) to the three remaining plots from the 2016 BT contract.

To resolve issues and accelerate the project, Task Force 1970 urged the City People’s Committee to approve the addition of the two new land plots to the BT contract’s appendix. It also requested permission to hold a fourth negotiation session with the investor to finalize documents and sign a preliminary agreement before submitting it to the City People’s Committee and the Party Committee’s Standing Board for approval.

The VND 10 trillion anti-flooding project, launched in 2016 under a public-private partnership (PPP) as a BT (Build-Transfer) contract, aims to control tidal flooding across 570 km², benefiting approximately 6.5 million residents in the right bank of the Saigon River and central Ho Chi Minh City. However, the project was halted in late 2020 due to land fund settlement issues and BT contract adjustments.

If the agreed-upon plan is promptly approved by the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee, it will mark the final step in reviving the project after over five years of suspension, offering hope for addressing the long-standing issue of tidal flooding in the city.