HCM City plans to have more green space by building more public parks. (Photo: VNA)

HCM City - The HCM City authorities have directed relevant agencies to review the use of land planned for public parks to have more urban green spaces from 2023 to 2025.

According to the municipal Department of Construction, the city has around 369 public parks and parks of residential areas with a total of 500 hectares. The current ratio of park areas and the city’s population is very low at only 0.55 square meter per capita.

For the past few years, the city has strived to increase public green spaces and expand public parks, but the result has not been as expected.

Most public parks are located in the inner city. There are no public parks in the suburban districts of 9, 12, Thu Duc, Binh Tan, Nha Be, Hoc Mon, Cu Chi and Binh Chanh.

The land area of some public parks was even reduced for the expansion of streets, such as Gia Dinh Park in Go Vap district and Tao Dan Park in District 1 or to use as parking lots such as Le Van Tam Park in District 1.

According to the Department of Construction, after reviewing the land reserves for public parks, the department will propose preparing construction projects and calling for investment.

The city targets to achieve 2.5-12 square meters of green space per capita by 2025.

In 2023, the city authorities will realise a plan to build 10 hectares of public parks and two hectares of green public space, planting and renovating 6,000 green trees to meet the target of 3-4 square meters of green space per capita.