Ho Chi Minh City will implement a seaward development plan in a move to cope with negative impacts of climate change, with supports from the Dutch port city of Rotterdam, an official of HCM City’s Department of Natural Resources and Environment said. Head of the department’s Solid Waste Office Nguyen Trung Viet was cited by the Thoi Bao Kinh Te Sai Gon newspaper as saying that Rotterdam’s assistance will focus on developing seaport system, water schemes and construction towards the sea. Ho Chi Minh City, with a 17-kilometer coastline and complicated waterway system in the southern part, will concentrate on developing waterways transport along with seaports in the near future, especially in Can Gio district. The two cities are preparing to set up a steering committee for the plan, Viet said, adding the Ho Chi Minh City’s leaders had come to Rotterdam to learn experiences on the issue last year. Vice Mayor Nguyen Trung Tin said HCM City is one among ten cities worldwide to be hardest hit by climate change, emphasizing the urgency to effectively exploit marine resources. Rising temperatures and rainfalls inundated nearly 117 wards during the rainy season in 2009, Tin said, adding that if sea level rises by 75cm in 2050, 10% of the city’s areas will be completely underwater. (Thoi Bao Kinh Te Sai Gon – Saigon Economic Times Daily Nov 1)
