Over 2.5 million people in Ho Chi Minh City have got direct benefits from a US$528 million urban project to give the city a facelift as well as to give loans to poor dwellers during the past ten years.

That information was provided by Le Thanh Liem, the project director, at a meeting held on Tuesday to review the impacts of the project, which was initiated in 2004 and funded by the World Bank.

Those running the project have upgraded 1,438 alleys, installed water supply pipes and electricity grids in residential zones, and planted electricity posts and fire hydrants.

In addition, they have built two roads along Tan Hoa Lo Gom Canal in District 6 and the six bridges of Bong, Kieu, Le Van Sy, Hau Giang, Ong Buong 1, and Ong Buong 2.

Project undertakers already finished dredging the bed of the Tan Hoa Lo Gom Canal under the project.

As part of the same project, 63,000 families have got accessibility to loans for repairing their houses and running their own business.

Construction work has helped put an end to flooding on many streets in District 6, District 11, Tan Binh District, and Tan Phu District.

Of the total amount of $528 million for the project, $266.7 million came from World Bank loans, $1 million was granted by the bank as non-refundable aid, and the remaining was covered by the state coffers.   

Ho Chi Minh City is one of the four cities in Vietnam selected by the World Bank for granting loans for urban construction, along with Hai Phong in the north, Nam Dinh in the central region, and Can Tho in the Mekong Delta.

So far, around 500km of sewer networks and 580km of roads have been upgraded and 30,000 households have had access to clean water thanks to the project.

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