$20 million public space in HCM City falling apart after just a year

By Hai Hieu   May 11, 2016 | 10:45 pm PT
Nguyen Hue Square in Ho Chi Minh City has rapidly deteriorated since it opened in April last year.
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The square cost VND430 billion ($20 million) and includes a Ho Chi Minh monument, fountains, roads and sidewalks. It is the venue for the city's annual flower festival as well as many other public events.

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The square is 670 meters long and 64 meters wide and paved with granite slabs that should have lasted for hundreds of years. However, many of them have already cracked.

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A series of LED lights designed to light up trees at night have sunk into their protective iron frames.

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Lots of manhole covers are popping out.

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Nguyen Thanh Huy, 31, from District 10 told VnExpress: "I know that granite pavements in other countries last for a long time. Trucks are not allowed on the square so why has the surface cracked so quickly?"

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Many ornamental plants are grown in tubs around the square, but some have ruptured causing water to spill out.

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A piece of decorative has been plied away.

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Nguyen Vinh Ninh, director of the Urban Management Zone 1 under the city's Department of Transport, said that the project has yet to be officially completed by the investor. He added that the cracked pavements were due to vehicles using the pedestrian streets.

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The management team has asked the contractor to inspect the whole site and repair any damage. Ninh said that they will only accept the work when it meets the necessary standards.

 
 
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