The 32-hectare plot, including a length of nearly three kilometers along the Saigon River, sits in a prime location close to the city center via Khanh Hoi Bridge and to the Thu Thiem urban area.
In 2016 Ho Chi Minh City authorities gave approval for a private developer to build the Nha Rong – Khanh Hoi Complex on 31.5 hectares with a shopping mall, more than 3,100 apartments, a school, and a health station.
After years of delay the city Party Committee recently decided to suspend the housing project and instead use to the land to expand the "Ho Chi Minh cultural space," (an official government initiative to create physical and digital places that present the life, thought, moral example and cultural values of President Ho Chi Minh, used for education, civic morale-building and cultural diplomacy), build a park, open roads, and develop public services.
At the northern end of the site stands the Ho Chi Minh Museum, commemorating June 5, 1911, when Nguyen Tat Thanh (as President Ho Chi Minh called himself then) departed on the ship Amiral Latouche-Tréville to seek a path for national liberation.
Behind the museum lie former workshops, warehouses and piers that were once bustling with activity.
In August 2017 the land was handed over to the developer, and the project was expected to launch in 2018, but a number of procedural obstacles delayed construction.
A few road-facing facilities along Nguyen Tat Thanh Street have ceased operations and handed over their premises.
Near Tan Thuan Bridge, linking the former districts 7 and 4, many port structures have deteriorated and are now used for storing construction materials, scrap or other goods.
Even though port activities have relocated, Nguyen Tat Thanh Street and many other roads in the former District 4 continue to suffer from chronic congestion, being the main routes leading to District 1, affecting residents' daily lives.
A panoramic view from Tan Thuan Bridge shows the Nha Rong – Khanh Hoi Port area facing the Thu Thiem urban zone across the river.
According to experts, halting the residential project will improve urban living conditions by creating a green space, expanding roads near the former port and preserving the historical and cultural value of Ben Nha Rong.
