HCM City to relocate 26,000 households living on canals
Relocating 26,000 households and clearing the slums along canals is one of the seven key projects of the HCM City gentrification program. A research work by Dr Le Huy Ba and architect Le Minh Thanh found that nearly 100 percent of rivers and canals in HCMC are polluted. Ninety seven percent of canals and 22.5 percent of water surface area have been encroached on by locals, who have built houses for accommodation. About 90 percent of canals suffer from sedimentation (organic matter, garbage, gravel and hyacinth), which makes it impossible for small boats to move in low tide. By July 15, 2016, the local authorities had discovered hundreds of cases of encroached land and solid works built on sewers and outlets, causing serious flooding at many hotspots in the city. Meanwhile, odor pollution is the typical characteristic of many canals in the city such as Tau Hu – Ben Nghe, Tham Luong and even Nhieu Loc, which has been improved in a project costing $350 million.
