Newly opened Xuyen Tam canal road blocked by university security guards

A road opened to residents in Ho Chi Minh City on Sept. 2 was partly blocked by the next morning, leaving some people to ask university security guards for permission to pass.

The barriers appeared near the entrance to Van Lang University on the 1.4-kilometer road along Xuyen Tam canal in An Nhon ward. Guards stopped residents and said “the school ordered it” because the route had not yet been formally handed over. Some people who wanted to continue had to negotiate for an opening, while the guards told others to take a detour.

The road forms part of package XL3 in the Xuyen Tam canal renovation project. The Ho Chi Minh City Urban Infrastructure Construction Investment Project Management Board, which oversees the project, opened the section on Sept. 2. It runs from Pham Van Dong Street to the road beside the Tham Luong-Ben Cat canal, with access afterward across An Phu Dong railway bridge toward the former District 12 area.

The route is intended to shorten journeys and ease traffic on Phan Van Tri Street. A portion of the newly opened road previously stood inside Van Lang University’s campus, but Ho Chi Minh City reclaimed the land for the project and handed the site to the investor.

That means the opened section is a local public road, not property managed by Van Lang University, according to the report. An Nhon ward officials said they had taken note of the incident and would invite university representatives to a meeting. They said guards who blocked the road and vehicles had acted improperly and that the matter would be clarified for possible action.

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The school ordered it.