Ensuring modernity, aesthetics, and environmental friendliness

Many public toilets are in disrepair.

According to the report of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Ho Chi Minh City, in recent times, Ho Chi Minh City has implemented many solutions to increase the quantity and quality of public toilets to contribute to building a civilized, green, clean, beautiful city and improving the quality of life of people and the quality of service for tourists in the area.

Modern, environmentally friendly public toilets in District 1 (HCMC).

Since 2013, the City has piloted investment in public toilets in the form of socialization in public areas. Currently, there are 2,169 public toilets in areas such as parks, squares, bus stations... but the number of public toilets is unevenly distributed, most in District 1, Binh Chanh District, and Cu Chi District.

The results of the recent review by the units assigned to manage and operate public toilets show that, due to various subjective and objective reasons, many toilets have deteriorated, even severely damaged and are no longer usable. This situation has significantly affected the quality of sanitation, the surrounding environment, and the needs of residents and tourists.

According to the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Ho Chi Minh City, the city currently does not have enough public land to arrange public toilets, partly due to legal problems when implementing investment in building public toilets on land reserved for roads and passenger wharves across the river. In addition, in some places, there is also opposition from agencies, businesses, organizations and individuals in the surveyed areas and locations because people are concerned about urban aesthetics and environmental pollution.

Promote socialization

Recently, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Ho Chi Minh City has sent a report to the City People's Committee on the solutions to be implemented in the coming time to increase the quantity and improve the quality of public toilets in the area. Ho Chi Minh City will continue to propagate and mobilize people to raise awareness in the effective use of toilets; research and integrate information and locations of public toilets into tourism industry application software for easy access by people and tourists; continue to mobilize service businesses, supermarkets, shopping centers... to agree to let visitors and tourists use toilets at these establishments when needed.

Ho Chi Minh City continues to review, propose supplements and promptly replace outdated regulations, mechanisms and policies to promote, attract, support and create conditions for investors to participate in building new and renovating, improving the service quality of public toilets in the direction of prioritizing socialization, limiting the use of the State budget; review and develop plans to renovate and upgrade degraded and damaged public toilets in areas and locations such as parks, tourist attractions, bus stations, bus stops... from the State budget or from other legal funding sources according to regulations.

Along with that, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment also recommended that the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee soon issue the Project "Improving the quantity and quality of public toilets and public trash bins in the city" as a basis for relevant departments, branches and People's Committees of districts, Thu Duc City, agencies and units to implement renovation, upgrading and investment in new public toilets under their management authority.

Recently, departments, branches, People's Committees of districts, towns and Thu Duc City have proposed to the People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City to allow the renovation and upgrading of 53 existing public toilets; proposed 160 locations that need to invest in new public toilets in parks, markets, ferry terminals, bus stops... Previously, the People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City assigned Thanh Nien Xung Phong Public Service Company Limited to research, propose design models, financial resource plans, operation and management methods to invest in the construction of public toilets in the city center.

The Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Ho Chi Minh City believes that the investment in building new public toilets in the coming time will be in a modern direction, ensuring the requirements of utilities, urban aesthetics and environmental friendliness. In particular, the new public toilet designs have proposed combined management methods that can be exploited to create revenue and livelihoods for workers in operating public toilets to increase efficiency in management.

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