The total area of green space in Ho Chi Minh City has shrunk up by half to only about 535 hectares within the past 11 years, according to an official of the Park and Greenery Office under the HCMC Department of Transport.
In 1998, the southern hub had about 1,000 hectares of green space, including local parks, flower gardens and ornamental plants along the roads, Do Van Tam of the Park and Greenery Office told Thoi Bao Kinh Te Sai Gon Online (Saigon Economic Times Online).
The public green area per capita in the southern metro of seven million people only reached 0.7 square meters, he said.
It is far behind the city’s target of four to five square meters of green space per person for the 2006-2010 period and the global standard of eight square meters of green area per capita set by the World Health Organization.
Tam attributed the problem to residential project developers who ignored local authorities’ requirements on green space development.
Some areas originally planned for plants and public parks have even been converted for other purposes, he said.
The Department of Transport said the organization was drafting a plan for green coverage to aim at the target of four to five square meters of green space per person in 2025.
HCMC’s authorities are planning to issue new regulations by April next year to require developers of local residential projects and urban zones to meet the standard of two square meters of greenery for each person.
A number of projects will also kick start next year to add more green space to the heavily-populated city, including the expansion of the Gia Dinh Park in Phu Nhuan District by 17.4 hectares and the construction of six new parks and gardens in Go Vap District.
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