Coastal construction projects threaten the mangrove forest that protects Vietnam's biggest city

CAN GIO, Vietnam (AP) — Mangrove forests, a vital buffer between Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City and an increasingly volatile sea, are at risk as the country’s financial capital expands and construction reshapes its coastline. For generations, a dense tangle of mangrove trees has shielded the city as rising temperatures due to climate change intensified storms and flooding. Their roots knit the coastline together, sheltering marine life and fish and absorbing carbon emissions.

Scientists warn that construction of Can Gio, a new seaside city, along with a major port, roads, bridges and a 14-km (9-mile) sea-crossing route between Can Gio and the port city of Vung Tau, could disrupt water flows that sustain the mangroves, weakening a natural defense for the city of 10 million. Ho Chi Minh City, formerly known as Saigon, is one of the world’s most climate-vulnerable cities. About 80% of its area is vulnerable to flooding, a 2026 study by Vietnamese scientists found.

Even now, the government estimates that rising seawater costs the city about $57 million a year. In 2025, record downpours and the highest tides in its history flooded streets and homes. The mangroves in Can Gio nearly died out during the Vietnam War, when U.S.

forces sprayed chemicals to strip away cover for Viet Cong guerilla fighters. In the late 1970s, the forest was painstakingly replanted. It became Vietnam’s first UNESCO biosphere reserve in 2000.

Ho Chi Minh city is catching up with Vietnam’s economic boom As Vietnam pushes to become Asia’s next tiger economy, it is transforming its 3,260 kilometer (2,030 mile) coastline. In April, the country’s largest company, Vingroup, broke ground for the new coastal town on reclaimed land the size of 1,800 soccer fields. Authorities view Can Gio as a “gateway to the sea” and vital logistics hub.

Its new $4.7 billion port will handle millions of shipping containers a year. It’s also slated to become a major tourism destination. At the heart of those plans is Vingroup’s Green Paradise — a 2,870-hectare (more than 7,000 acre) coastal development the conglomerate’s property arm, Vinhomes, is building.