The Department of Planning and Architecture of Ho Chi Minh City has put forward to the municipal People’s Committee a plan to roof the sidewalks on Le Loi Boulevard in District 1.

Le Loi Boulevard, which connects key destinations in the city center such as Ben Thanh Market, the Municipal Theater, and Nguyen Hue Pedestrian Street, has been reinstated since August 2022 after it was blocked for the construction of Ben Thanh Terminal and tracks of metro line No. 1 for eight years.

However, the boulevard has lacked shelters to protect pedestrians from sunlight and rain while its current state is not suitable for planting trees to shade the sidewalk as before, according to the architecture department’s proposal. 

Therefore, the department proposed installing a roof from 5.5 meters to 6 meters wide on each side of the route.

The estimated cost of the roofing is about VND20-30 billion (US$850,160-1.27 million), with the People’s Committee of District 1 tasked with choosing funding from either household businesses along the boulevard or the local government budget.

The People’s Committee of District 1 has also sought the municipal authorities’ approval for turning Le Loi Boulevard into a promenade to attract tourists, thus boosting local economic development.

As per the plan, Le Loi Pedestrian Street is designed to start at the intersection with Nguyen Hue, the first pedestrian street in the city, and end at the Quach Thi Trang Roundabout in front of Ben Thanh Market to create a commercial and shopping street.

The pedestrian street would open from 4:00 pm to 2:00 am on weekends, including areas for cultural products-events, tourism services, and trade and catering services.

It would be divided into three areas, including a 240-meter modern street section along which double-decker food carts would be put, a 120-meter nostalgic stretch featuring old-style food carts, and a 120-meter span for events.

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