The plan calls for water-proofing the lake, fixing cracked walkways and adding a sprinkler system, as well as ornamental flowers and artistic lighting.
The Department of Construction has passed along a VND50 billion (US$2.2 million) plan to the People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City regarding necessary renovations to Hồ Con Rùa (Turtle Lake) and the surrounding area, according to Thanh Niên.
Officials claim that the artificial lake currently leaks, resulting in an occasionally empty and unsightly basin. Moreover, segments of the area's walkway and lake walls are chipped and cracked. The money will be spent to repair these elements, add a trash and moss filter to the lake, install a sprinkler and replace light poles while adding additional lighting elements to the surrounding trees. New flowers in floating planters will also be introduced to the popular spot for youthful loafing. No specific timeline has been offered for the work.
Numerous proposals have been offered in recent years for Turtle Lake and the surrounding streets. Last spring, before the Delta variant of COVID-19 caused a deadly outbreak, a different VND50 billion plan to pave the paths circling the lake with granite in preparation of transforming the area into in a pedestrian zone was offered.
The work would have included planting new trees and been completed by the end of 2021. Originally put forth in 2020, schemes to transform the streets surrounding the lake into a car-free zone filled with food and entertainment have yet to move forward, leaving us with only visual mockups to marvel over.
Turtle Lake is built atop land that was originally the site of a 19th-century water tower, and later a monument. The artificial lake itself was added sometime in the 1960s.
