diff --git a/tests/system-test/0-others/walRetention.py b/tests/system-test/0-others/walRetention.py
index befecf0f8a405b43c871e89afa7d259284068172..faa5cbc9c55f45ede4946c1bc0c0a82995161701 100644
--- a/tests/system-test/0-others/walRetention.py
+++ b/tests/system-test/0-others/walRetention.py
@@ -223,8 +223,8 @@ class TDTestCase:
             projPath = selfPath[:selfPath.find("community")]
         else:
             projPath = selfPath[:selfPath.find("tests")]
-        self.projDir += f"{projPath}sim/"
-        tdLog.info(f" init projPath={projPath}")
+        self.projDir = f"{projPath}sim/"
+        tdLog.info(f" init projPath={self.projDir}")
 
         self.column_dict = {
             'ts': 'timestamp',