Ho Chi Minh City authorities had asked for 90 percent of street barriers removed by this year end, but project management boards have averred, saying the end of next year would be the earliest this can happen.

The committee said barriers at these hotspots accounted for more than 90 percent of citywide street barriers.

However, the projects’ representatives said they couldn’t meet the deadline. They said they could temporarily remove the barriers for the Tet (Lunar New Year) holiday and resume work later with the barriers coming back on.

Dang Ngoc Hoi, director of the city’s Water Environment Improvement project, said they were facing difficulties because of other underground projects like water pipes and phone lines that required original plans to be modified.

Hoi said he expected the project to be completed by 2010 end at the earliest and for all barriers to be pulled down by early 2011.

The management board of HCMC Urban Improvement project also said many of the streets in their area cannot be cleared of street barriers until next year.

While committed to completing the World Bank-funded sanitation project by June, 2010, the management board of the project, which has the largest number of dug up streets, said central districts by then would be absolutely free of street barriers.

The barriers would be moved to the city’s outskirts for drainage projects there, project officials said.

Reported by Phuong Thanh