HCMC construction suspended for damaging houses

The request came about a week after several families on Street 18, An Khanh Ward reported their houses to be sinking and their walls cracked due to a construction site for a HCMC environment project, which dug into the ground.

During the suspension, the contractors of the project have the responsibility of minimizing barricades on certain sections of Tran Nao and Luong Dinh Cua streets, ensuring traffic safety.

The Department of Transport has also requested units to evaluate the construction process to figure out why the houses were damaged, before figuring out solutions to the problem.

Previously, houses running along a 200 m section of Street 18 showed signs of cracks and being tilted due to robots digging underground for a drainage system.

The contractors said the robots operate around 10 m away from the road surface, and during the process, they have caused disruption to the area. Combined with the fact that the terrain used to be a swamp, they have led to a weak soil foundation.

The units involved have surveyed the degree of sinking to figure out solutions to the issue.

HCMC environment project, now in its second phase, includes eight construction bidding packages to build sewer systems. The largest and most important package is the construction of a wastewater treatment plant in Thu Duc City, capable of processing 480,000 m3 of water a day. Once it enters operation, it would be the largest facility of its kind in HCMC.

The second phase began construction in 2017 with a total investment of US$524 million including $450 million of World Bank's official development aid. It was expected to be completed in 2021, but due to certain issues, the date has been pushed back to 2024.

The first phase, which cost more than $300 million of World Bank's funds, completed in August 2012 to clean up the Nhieu Loc-Thi Nghe Canal.