House removed from HCMC's intersection after decade-long occupation

A group of workers and a crane were dispatched to take down the house spreading 30 sq.m at the meeting point of Au Co, Luy Ban Bich, and Ba Van streets on Monday.

According to local authorities, the house with four facades does not only affect the intersection's aesthetics but also limits drivers' visibility and causes frequent traffic jams in the area.

Nguyen Quoc Binh, vice chairman of Tan Phu District, said after the house is dismantled, the district will refurbish the intersection by growing plants.

A house at an intersection where three streets meet in HCMC's Tan Phu District is dismantled on September 25, 2023. Photo by VnExpress/Dinh Van

The owner of the house, Tran Sau, and his family have lived there for around 20 years.

The house belonged to the list of those that must be removed to serve the project of widening streets. The project was completed in 2014.

However, when Sau started building a new house on the land plot he was offered as compensation, the district authorities found out that it would violate construction rules and suspend him from building it.

As a result, his family has continued staying at the house in the middle of three streets from 2014 until now.

The district later fixed the compensation issue by giving Sau another land plot, allowing his family to move out of the intersection.