Stretching nearly 1 km long, the A41 canal flowing through Tan Binh District serves as the main drainage system for about half of the parking area at Tan Son Nhat, as well as for the military's A41 factory and part of the Ministry of National Defense's Air Defense Division 370 headquarters.
Ho Chi Minh City approved a plan to renovate the canal in 2016, with a total investment of nearly VND350 billion (US$13.9 million). The plan was to increase its drainage capacity and prevent flooding in neighborhoods around the airport. However, due to land clearance issues, the "environmental improvement" project has yet to be implemented.
A no-dumping sign next to the canal aims to limit pollution.
According to the plan, the canal renovation project will be carried out from the airport fence to Cong Hoa Street. The section from Ut Tich Street to Giai Phong Street will be a double box culvert, while from Giai Phong Street to Phan Thuc Duyen Street it will be a single box culvert, instead of remaining the open canal it is now.
The project's construction unit will also widen the road alongside the canal to 12 m, not including new 4 m sidewalks on both sides of the waterway.
About 2 km from the canal, houses on Hoang Hoa Tham Street have been partially demolished to make space for a road expansion project.
The project to enlarge the street stretches nearly 800 m long and was approved in October 2016.
The plan is to widen the road from 8-10 m to 22 m at an initial total investment of VND255 billion.
But due to land clearance issues, the project has only recently begun.
The project's investment capital has also been adjusted to nearly VND300 billion due to additional compensation costs following the delays. The funding is being sourced from the state budget.
Nguyen Van Vien said that his family handed over a portion of their house to serve the street expansion.
The remaining part of the house is now being repaired to stabilize their lives and businesses.
"I hope the project will be completed soon to facilitate daily commutes and help businesses because people have been haunted by congestion in this area for so many years," he said.
The land in front of a row of houses along Hoang Hoa Tham Street has been cleared to make way for the project.
According to Tan Binh District People's Committee, the project will affect about 150 households. To date, more than 95% of them have agreed to the terms of authorities' compensation plan.
Hoang Ngoc Long is a worker hired to repair a house on Hoang Hoa Tham Street after its front was demolished.
Luong Minh Phuc, director of the Transportation Works Construction Investment Project Management Authority, said that after Tan Binh District hands over all the land, construction is expected to start at the end of this month for completion by the end of the year.
However, the plan still depends on the progress of site clearance, which is the duty of Tan Binh District.
At the airport's gateway, HCMC is building a road connecting Tran Quoc Hoan and Cong Hoa streets at the cost of VND4.8 trillion from the state budget. Running about 4 km long, the new road directly connects to Tan Son Nhat's new domestic terminal T3, which is under construction.
Nearly a month ago, the construction unit built a temporary bridge for vehicles to pass through while the new road, which includes a tunnel, is under construction.
As planned, the overpass will be finished late this month.
After that, the contractor will build a second overpass next to Hoang Van Thu Park for vehicles to pass through in order to access the surrounding land for construction of the tunnel.
Tan Son Nhat is Vietnam's largest and busiest airport, with an average of 60,000-70,000 passengers per day.
Last year it served 40.7 million passengers, against a designed capacity of 28 million, up 18.85% against 2022.
