Donor / Partner: Asian Development Bank (ADB) / HCMC Peoples Committee   |    Duration: 2008-2009    |    Location: Vietnam

About: Commenced in early 2008 and submitted for review in July 2009, the study is an initial step in a planned response by Ho Chi Minh City to the  challenges it faces in adapting to climate change. The study explored the threats of climate change by 2050 and its potential impact on areas, communities  and sectors in the city and provided recommendations for adaptation  options.

HCMC is a tropical coastal city located on the estuary of Saigon-Dong Nai River system Within the Dong Nai River Basin. It is focal zone of the Southern  Economic Focal Region (SEFR), the most important regional economic planning unit in the country. A significant part of HCMC is regularly flooded from  tides, storm surge, rains, floods and man-made structures. There  are great social and economic pressures on the city and its land and water resources, even  without the added pressures of extreme weather events and climate change. The study highlighted  the anticipated expansion of the city with the possible growth  of the  population due to economic and climate migration.

Detailed adaptation planning holds the key to future resilience in HCMC. All sectors and  areas need to consider the impacts of climate  change in their development plans. The study focused on strategic development sectors and spatial planning, including urban planning and infrastructure,  transport, power development, water management and supply and public health.
Some of the key findings of the study were:

• The transport master plan is committed to (i)  major ring road construction, (ii) arterial interprovincial and national roads,  and (iii) new ports and rail/metro systems. By 2050, some 30-70% of these new systems are at risk of flooding.
• Close to 70% of the City’s remaining agriculture are at risk of salinity.
• Some 50% of the City’s surface and groundwater treatment plants are at risk of flooding and salinity of concentrations of 1%.
• 60% of the City’s wastewater treatment plants and 90% of land fill sites are at risk of flooding.

> View and download the Ho Chi Minh City Adaptation to Climate Change: Summary Report

> View and download VOL 1:  Ho Chi Minh City Adaptation to Climate Change: Executive Summary

> View and download VOL 2: Ho Chi Minh City  Adaptation to Climate Change: Main Report

> View and download VOL 3:  Ho Chi Minh City Adaptation to Climate Change: Annexes

The study and report also informed the World Bank’s larger synthesis report, Climate Risks and Adaptation in Asian Coastal Megacities, released in 2010.

> View and download the World Bank synthesis report.