Large parts of Thu Duc City are situated in low-lying areas near rivers and face frequent challenges from high water levels, leading to flooding predominantly caused by the interaction between semi-diurnal tides and the increased discharge from the Saigon River and Dong Nai River. Several factors exacerbate this situation, including the inadequate functionality of urban drainage systems, urban expansion in low-lying zones lacking proper, integrated, and climate resilient flood protection, tidal amplification due to infilling of the channels and narrowing of floodplains, land subsidence due to excessive groundwater extraction, and insufficient coordination of dam operations upstream. Furthermore, Thu Duc City is also highly vulnerable to pluvial flooding from June to November. Although historically, flood vulnerability influenced urban planning to avoid developments in flood-prone areas in Thu Duc City, recent years have witnessed dense urban development’s encroaching into these vulnerable zones due to increasing land values in wider Ho Chi Minh City. 

In view of climate change, subsidence and ongoing urbanization, the projected rise in sea levels and ongoing land subsidence are anticipated to heighten flood risks in the future. Based on a comprehensive understanding of Thu Duc City’s on-going and planned large-scale developments, it stands to reason that Thu Duc City urban areas today will be more vulnerable to flooding in the future and with increasing urban sprawling, the coverage of areas susceptible to flooding will also increase if appropriate actions are not taken quickly.

In the context of the growing flood challenges in Thu Duc City combined with rapid urbanization, the Netherlands – through its Partners for Water Program – in support to the World Bank Group (hereinafter WBG), has been assisting the Government of Vietnam in addressing the growing flood challenges in Ho Chi Minh City and specifically, the challenges in Thu Duc. Starting from July 2023, a consultancy service carried out by the group of experts from Royal HaskoningDHV , Delta Context and OMGEVING was commissioned to i) support the visioning and rationale for the enhancement of Thu Duc City’s flood risk management capacity and the enabling of the City’s climate-resilient economic development, and ii) detail and prioritize the necessary investments. As part of this consultancy, a Conceptual Proposal for the Integrated Flood Risk Management  Program has been prepared.