A VND10 trillion (US$437 million) anti-flooding project in Ho Chi Minh City is expected to reach completion within this year as obstacles related to its refinancing process were removed.

Nguyen Huy Binh, an official from the city’s Urban Infrastructure Construction Project Management Board, provided the latest updates about the anti-flooding project during a meeting on post-pandemic economic recovery on Thursday.

The project is aimed at solving tidal flooding affecting an area of 570 square kilometers with about 6.5 million people along the Saigon River bank and in the downtown area.

About 90 percent of the work has been completed, but the project had recently been dragged by multiple issues involving its refinancing procedures, Binh elaborated.

Following a direction from the municipal authorities, competent agencies have been focusing on dealing with these obstacles.

The city is now working with investors to speed up the final stage of the construction.

The work is expected to be complete within 2022, the official continued, adding that the payment and settlement process will be finished in 2023.

The project is implemented under the public-private partnership (PPP) model, and 16 percent of the contract value will be paid to investors with land use rights, while the remaining 84 percent is paid in cash.

Despite the delay, there has been no cost overrun, and the overall quality of the project is not affected.

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