As many as 1.7 million square meters (sq.m) of apartment or 1,579 blocks in Hanoi are downgraded, threatening safety of dozens of thousands of residents. 

A old apartment block in Hanoi. Photo: Kinhtedothi.vn

Some of them, which were built under the French colonialism, are no longer safe for living and might collapse at any time, according to the city’s Department of Construction. 

Despite the city’s efforts to upgrade or rebuild the old apartments since 2007, only 1% of the blocks have been rebuilt, due to problems relating to compensation. Conflicts between residents and property developers or dissatisfaction with the city’s relocating policies top the reasons for the reconstruction programs to lag behind schedules.  

Deputy Director of Hanoi Department of Construction Nguyen Chi Dung said that regulations on the height limit and population density in newly-built projects have disheartened investors.  

Meanwhile, Prof. Dang Hung Vo, former deputy minister of Environment and Natural Resources, said that the regulations requiring 100% endorsement of apartment owners for the rebuilding of old blocks have hindered the progress. 

To better the situation, Hanoi’s authorities have proposed the government allowing the city to change planning on population and the number of floors. 

Tran Ngoc Hung, head of Vietnam Federation of Civil Engineering Association (VFCEA), said that the government but not property developers should make planning and closely follow the planning. In addition, the majority of residents living in old apartments are people who made merits to the nation, the government needs to show its role in the issue, Hung explained.  

To speed up the upgrading progress, the National Assembly and the People’s Councils need to decide the funding while the government and the People’s Committees should have cleared land for relocation and facilitate property developers, Hung suggested. 

Hanoitimes