Ho Chi Minh City plans to build 172 new public toilets and call on 500 business establishments to offer gratis toilet service to dwellers and tourists by the third quarter of next year, according to a statement of the municipal Department of Natural Resources and Environment.

The department has proposed the municipal administration to issue a plan to improve public restrooms in the city in 2024-25.

In particular, the city will mobilize at least 200 business establishments and service providers in District 1, District 3, and District 5 to offer free toilet service by the end of this year.

By the first quarter of next year, the city will upgrade 80 public toilets and call on 300 establishments across the city to provide free toilets for travelers and local residents.

The number of business establishments involved in the plan is expected to increase to 600 by the end of 2025.

The city will also maintain public restrooms periodically and seek locations for new toilets.

Relevant units will take the initiative in choosing appropriate investment models with the priority given to private resources to encourage the involvement of the community and save the state budget.

The city is currently home to 2,165 public restrooms, including 283 in parks and coach stations and on sidewalks, together with 1,882 others offered by business establishments and state agencies.

Many of them fail to meet the standards and do not correspond with the surrounding landscapes and the modern architecture in Ho Chi Minh City.

Some of them have no operators.

The investment in, management and maintenance of public restrooms in the southern metropolis are facing multiple difficulties due to the shortage of land banks for such facilities, legal hindrances, and users’ poor awareness. 

The city has piloted some public toilet models in District 1 and District 7.

The District 1 People’s Committee said these toilets are clean, while the administration in District 7 said that these facilities are inefficient as the number of residents using them was small.

Ho Chi Minh City ranks 67th out of 69 for public restroom quality on the list of the most popular tourist cities in the world, Nikkei Asia cited rankings by QS Supplies, a company that sells toilets, in a report released in early February 2023.

The city is facing a lack of public restrooms, which is exacerbated by the deteriorating state of the current ones.

On bustling streets, such as Bui Vien and De Tham in District 1 as well as Vo Van Tan and Pham Ngoc Thach in District 3, there are no public restrooms.

Meanwhile, some restrooms on Tu Xuong and Le Quy Don Streets in District 3 are regularly closed.

To find a restroom, tourists and local residents have to visit restaurants, coffee shops or trade centers.

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