Hai Phong approves extension of Tam Bạc market flower garden project completion timeline

On 3 April, the Hai Phong City People’s Committee issued a document approving an extension of the completion time for the flower garden project at the Tam Bạc old market area from 2025 to 2026. The delay is attributed to one household that has not yet received compensation for land clearance.

Background and project scope

In April 2025, the Hong Bang District People’s Committee approved the Tam Bạc old market flower garden project. The project’s total investment is more than 30.862 billion VND. Key components include building a greenery flower garden on the site of the old Tam Bạc market, and renovating and repaving sidewalks along Phan Bội Châu, Hoàng Ngân, and portions of sidewalks on Tôn Thất Thuyết and Lý Thường Kiệt around the old market.

The original implementation period was set for 2023–2025.

Land recovery issues behind the delay

According to the People’s Committee of Hong Bang Ward, the flower garden project requires reclaiming 35,045 square meters. Of this total, besides the old Tam Bạc market area managed by Hong Bang Ward, the project must reclaim more than 281 square meters of residential land from several households.

However, one household on the land-recovery list has not complied with the inventory process to prepare compensation and resettlement plans. As a result, the project has been delayed and needs to extend the implementation period from 2023–2025 to 2023–2026.

Rationale for extending the timeline

According to the Hai Phong Department of Finance, from the time of project approval in April 2025 to the planned completion date of 31 December 2025, the project had only seven months to carry out tasks including compensation, site clearance, and construction. The department said this timeframe makes it difficult for the investor to complete all required work.

The Department of Finance also noted that the project’s objectives, location, and total investment do not change; only the execution period is extended.

Funding and legal basis

The Department of Finance stated that the project is allocated public investment funding in 2025. Under the Public Investment Law, this Category-C project can be funded for no more than three years, which means it remains eligible for an extension without requiring an adjustment to the investment policy.

Based on this, the Hai Phong Department of Finance proposed that the Hai Phong City People’s Committee approve the extension of the project completion period for the Tam Bạc old market flower garden project.

Context from the 2023 market fire

As reported by VnEconomy, on 12 February 2023, the Tam Bạc market—an important wholesale market for fabrics, clothing, and footwear in the city center—caught fire. The fire damaged 428 regular traders and 187 irregular traders. The entire two-story steel-frame market building, covering an area of over 4,831 square meters, burned and suffered heavy damage.

After the fire, Hai Phong concluded that the old Tam Bạc market area was too small to meet the criteria for rebuilding a first-class market. The Hai Phong People’s Committee decided to relocate the Tam Bạc market to the Mega Market area, also within Hong Bang Ward. On the old Tam Bạc market site, funds were invested to build a flower garden for leisure, sports, and urban renovation, aimed at improving residents’ quality of urban life.