Saigon's Century-Old Street Widening Project Finally Underway

Ho Chi Minh City is poised to commence one of its most anticipated infrastructure projects: the widening of Nguyễn Tất Thành Street, a perpetually gridlocked artery in the former District 4, on September 2, 2026. The plan involves expanding the road from its current four lanes to six or eight, at a projected cost of nearly VND3 trillion. Concurrently, the adjacent 32-hectare Nhà Rồng–Khánh Hội port area will be transformed into a public park. The construction start date is strategically chosen to coincide with the city's 50th anniversary. While this project signifies long-overdue progress, historical archives reveal that urban planners have grappled with this same waterfront corridor for over a century. As early as 1904, colonial planners were devising solutions for the congested fluvial traffic between Chợ Lớn and Saigon's port. A diversion canal, the present-day Kênh Tẻ, was dug to ease congestion, inadvertently turning the village of Khánh Hội into an island and establishing a geographical boundary that persists today. Khánh Hội, a riverside settlement predating French colonization, was eventually incorporated into Saigon's municipal authority in 1907. This annexation was driven by pragmatic considerations, including the presence of factories and a dense population, as well as the strategic location of the Nhà Rồng Wharf, from which Hồ Chí Minh himself departed in 1911. However, the incorporation was not without local resistance. Ten notables from Khánh Hội expressed concerns that their traditional straw-and-timber dwellings would not be tolerated alongside the industrial zone's brick buildings, fearing eviction. Despite these protests, colonial authorities prioritized industrial development. Archival documents from the 1920s indicate that traditional housing persisted, suggesting that social regulation lagged behind industrial ambitions. The widening of Nguyễn Tất Thành Street, a project repeatedly deferred by planners throughout the decades, represents the culmination of over a century of urban planning efforts to address congestion and redevelopment in this vital Saigon corridor. Source: Saigoneer