Vu Van Diep, director of the Technical Infrastructure Management Center under the Department of Construction, said at a press conference this morning, June 9.

Phu Dinh floodgate, a component of HCMC’s VND10-trillion anti-flooding project – PHOTO: LE ANH

Since 2008, the city has tackled 104 flooded areas including 25 areas during the past five years. Diep stressed that the city’s anti-flooding activities have seen a significant improvement, with a reduction in the number of flooded areas, time and severity of flooding.

The level of flooding has been reduced to 0.1-0.3 meter, while the time has been shortened from 4-6 hours to 15-40 minutes after rain.

Diep said floods in the city are mainly caused by the outdated drainage system and waterway encroachment.

Regarding the anti-flooding project for Nguyen Huu Canh Street, Diep said lifting the street surface would help prevent floods on the street but areas along the street would still get flooded.

For the VND10-trillion flood-control project, the investor has committed to completing the mammoth project in October 2020.

Once complete, the project will help prevent tidal flooding and floods caused by rain in the central business district and districts 7, 8 and Nha Be. SGT