The Vietnamese government has allocated over VNĐ4.55 trillion (nearly US$178 million) to eliminate temporary and substandard houses for low-income households nationwide, the Ministry of Ethnic and Religion Affairs announced on Sunday.

The People's Committee of Lâm Đồng Province on Monday approved the investment project for the construction of the first phase of the Bảo Lộc-Liên Khương Expressway, under the public-private partnership (PPP) model, with a total investment of VNĐ17.71 trillion (US$692.5 million).

The central province of Nghe An is home to 179 communes in 11 mountainous districts. 76 communes are in extremely difficult areas and 27 are in border areas. Based on this reality, the province has determined that constructing new rural areas in difficult districts will take villages and hamlets as the core for replication.

The policy of the Party and the State to eliminate temporary and dilapidated houses aims to ensure social welfare and help poor and near-poor households achieve stable living conditions. In the Southwestern region, where many ethnic minority communities reside, the movement to eliminate temporary and dilapidated houses has been actively supported by youth union members and young people.

The central province of Quang Nam will do away with more than 6,100 temporary and dilapidated houses this year, aiming at improving living conditions for local residents.

The south-central province of Ninh Thuan has launched a campaign to build new houses to replace temporary and dilapidated houses in the next 90 days.

The People's Committee of the southern province of Đồng Nai has appointed a planner for the construction of the Hiệp Hòa Urban Area, the largest of its kind in the province.

Officials emphasised that the upgrade is essential to accommodate rising traffic demand, support the target of 8 per cent GDP growth.

HCM City authorities on Saturdya broke ground on the city’s first pedestrian bridge crossing the Sài Gòn River, linking District 1 with the Thủ Thiêm New Urban Area in Thủ Đức City, with a total investment of nearly VNĐ1 trillion ( US$39 million).

A technical completion for the Quảng Đà Bridge project connecting the central city of Đà Nẵng and Quảng Nam Province has been completed, creating smooth traffic of the two neighbour localities on the National Highway No 14B.

The Government is studying the establishment of a National Housing Fund to boost the supply of affordable housing and address rising demand in major urban areas.