A VND10 trillion ($436 million) anti-flood project in HCMC is 96 percent complete, but it has been delayed for nearly six months due to contract issues. 

The project began construction in June 2016, with Trungnam Group the lead investor under a build-transfer contract. The project aims to control flooding over a 750 square kilometer area with around 6.5 million people in downtown HCMC and by the Saigon River.

While the project was expected to be completed within three years, construction was briefly stopped in April 2018 due to a lack of capital, and then delayed again starting November 2020 due to the HCMC People's Committee having yet to extend the project's completion deadline while the contract had already expired in June 2020.

The project entails six tidal sluices, with the biggest located on the Muong Chuoi River of Nha Be District. The sluice spans 200 meters, has four tidal valves and is now 96 percent complete.

A boat passes beneath the Muong Chuoi tidal sluice. The gates are an important part of the sluice, responsible for regulating the water flow from rivers through the sluice.

The valves would open once water levels inside the canal grows higher than that of the river outside and vice versa.

The valve gates could weigh up to 320 tons, including five pillars and a valve tower 30 meters high. The pillars are designed to withstand force and control the gates using a hydraulic system.

But the project has now been suspended, with only a handful of workers left to keep watch over it.

A lock that spans 140 meters and is 11 meters wide would allow ships and boats to pass through once the valves are completed.

A warehouse and a management facility along the river bank have now been completed.

The Tan Thuan sluice has a valve weighing 230 tons, along with a mostly-completed lock on the Te Canal between Districts 4 and 7.

The Tan Thuan sluice is equipped with a pumping system to deal with heavy rain and high tides.

The Phu Xuan sluice, situated at Districts 7 and Nha Be, has been installed with two valve gates weighing 212 tons. Some other facilities of the sluice, like its management hub, have yet to be completed.

The Cay Kho sluice, situated on a canal with the same name in Binh Chanh and Nha Be Districts, prevents high tides from the Soai Rap and Can Giuoc rivers from entering downtown HCMC. It has three pillars, two valve gates weighing 460 tons, a lock and a management facility area. The facility itself has yet to be completed.

The Phu Dinh sluice in District 8 regulates tides from the Vam Co Dong and Can Giuoc rivers. Its valve gates have been installed, while its management facility and electrical system are still under construction.

The Ben Nghe sluice in District 1 sets itself apart from others with a 434-ton valve gate shaped like a ring due to its surroundings.

Once the project begins operation, valves in all six sluices would be opened for vessels to pass through. When there's either heavy rain or high tide, the valves would close and ships would travel through locks.

Earlier this month, former PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc signed a resolution to let HCMC continue with the project. Accordingly, the municipal People's Committee would be responsible for paying investors and remove unreasonable fees so the project could be completed.

The location of the six sluices across HCMC.