Master mover shifts 1,000-ton house to clear path for HCMC's ring road

The three-story house with an attic, measuring 25 meters wide and 15 meters long near Tan Van interchange in Di An City of Binh Duong Province, bordering HCMC, has been under relocation for the past month by Thien Loc Master Mover Company.

A house with orange tile roof has been moved further away from the Tan Van interchange project under construction in Di An City of Binh Duong, May 2025. Photo by VnExpress/Phuoc Tuan

Nguyen Minh Tai, director of Thien Loc Master Mover Company, referred to by many as the "master mover," said the house was built 20 years ago on a 1,000-square-meter plot. After a partial demolition, the main structure, covering 400 square meters and weighing about 1,000 tons, remained intact.

To move the house, workers reinforced the structure with steel beams and welded joints to ensure stability.

Then, they excavated the foundation and used hydraulic jacks to lift the entire building.

After one month, the house has now been elevated by 1.7 meters.

For the next step, workers build a new foundation, poured concrete to create a flat surface, and eventually they will roll the building to its new position.

The house has been moved 30 m from its original location. Photo by VnExpress/Phuoc Tuan

So far, it has been moved about 30 meters and is expected to be fully relocated within the next two weeks, starting Tuesday.

Tan Van is the largest interchange of the Ring Road 3 project.

It connects the Hanoi Highway, the Ben Thanh – Suoi Tien metro line, Nguyen Xien Street, and Binh Duong's provincial road DT743A, with a total investment of VND1.8 trillion (US$71 million). Since construction began in April 2024, many houses along the route have been affected. Earlier, a three-story house, which was leaning, had to be partially dismantled to ensure safety.

Ring Road 3 runs over 90 kilometers long through HCMC and its neighboring provinces of Binh Duong, Dong Nai, and Long An, and costs nearly VND75.4 trillion ($2.9 billion).

Of this, a section of 15.3 kilometers in Binh Duong have been completed after construction started in June, 2023.

The remaining 76 kilometers are under construction with a target of being put into service in June next year. Once completed, the project is expected improve regional connectivity and also form a key development corridor for urban and industrial growth in southern Vietnam.