After a decade of construction, Ho Chi Minh City's giant flood control system is close to completion. The project was first budgeted at nearly 10 trillion dong, about 400 million dollars. It is designed to protect around 6.5 million residents across 750 square kilometers. The protected area lies along the right bank of the Saigon River and includes the city center. Work began in 2016 and was originally meant to take three years. Legal hurdles caused repeated delays.
The system has six tidal-control sluice gates. Overall, construction is 95 percent finished, and completion is targeted for November. Trial operations and final testing are scheduled for October. The largest gate, Muong Chuoi, stretches more than 200 meters. At another site, two gates of 212 tons each have been installed. Nearly 1,500 officials, engineers, and workers are now working across the six sites to finish the job. Some gates are built to stop tidal water from nearby rivers flowing into the city center.