Homes demolished for canal redevelopment in Ho Chi Minh City

Hundreds of residents on Nguyen Duy Street (Chanh Hung ward) are dismantling their homes to make way for a canal improvement project.

Along the north bank of Kenh Doi canal on Nguyen Duy Street, hundreds of houses have been demolished to make way for the canal redevelopment project.

The urban renewal project has a total investment of over 7,400 billion VND. The project includes constructing over 4.3 km of embankments, dredging a section of the canal, and widening two roads along the bank—Hoai Thanh and Nguyen Duy—to 20 m. The project will also build an extension of Nguyen Duy Street (from alley 157 Hung Phu to Chu Y bridge, 16 m wide), Hiep An 2 bridge, a passenger terminal along the canal, and drainage, landscaping, and lighting systems.

The project is entering the phase of clearing 1,617 houses, reclaiming about 5.85 ha. Of these, 1,020 houses will be completely demolished, and the rest partially.

Most of the houses along Kenh Doi canal are makeshift structures built on wooden piles with patched tin roofs, at risk of collapsing.

Residents are dismantling wooden pillars and walls, transporting them elsewhere to clear the area for the project.

Workers dismantle sections of a prefabricated house. Nguyen Van Son, a demolition worker, said it takes about a week to completely dismantle a house. "The homeowners have moved to rental accommodations elsewhere, and we are clearing the site," he said.

Nguyen Van Lit uses a hammer to demolish a 2-meter wall within the area slated for demolition on Nguyen Duy Street.

Excavators and leveling equipment are deployed to clear the area along the north bank of Kenh Doi canal.

Along Nguyen Duy street, piles of rubble remain where houses once stood.

"When I heard about the demolition plan, I accepted the compensation and moved out early. I hope the project will be completed soon so that residents can benefit," said Hung, who owned a 75 m2 house there.

Hundreds of households along the north bank of Kenh Doi canal have yet to relocate due to unresolved compensation agreements.

The north bank redevelopment is part of Ho Chi Minh City’s ongoing plan to clear houses on and along canals. Scheduled to begin in 2025 and be completed in three years, the project aims to improve the urban landscape, reduce pollution, boost tourism, and enhance transportation connectivity.