The Construction Minister has not completed the draft plan for utilising land once occupied by State agencies’ headquarters, just a week before the ministry is to submit the plan to the Prime Minister on Monday.

The Construction Minister has not completed the draft plan for utilising land once occupied by State agencies’ headquarters, just a week before the ministry is to submit the plan to the Prime Minister on Monday. — Photo soha.vn

The ministry’s spokesman Nguyen Viet Hung said that the ministry and experts were still considering options and their feasibility, so they could not announce a final draft.

The ministry was charged with developing a plan to utilise land at the sites of old State agency and ministry headquarters. In 2002, the city gave 100ha of land in suburban districts to agencies to construct new headquarters. The city aimed to clear space in crowded downtown districts in order to reduce pressure on the city’s infrastructure, ease traffic congestion and create more public space for citizens.

Among 28 ministries and State agencies based in Hanoi's inner districts, ten have moved their headquarters to suburban districts. But the ministries and agencies delayed handing over their old headquarters to Hanoi People’s Committee.

The Construction Ministry’s land-use plan could be used to mobilise financing from the State budget, and compel the agencies to relinquish their old headquarters buildings.

Chairman of Hà Nội People’s Committee Nguyen Duc Chung said that the city had not revoked any downtown land previously used by ministries and State agencies for their headquarters.

For example, the Ministry of Home Affairs inaugurated its new headquarters on Tôn Thất Thuyết Street, Cầu Giấy District in December 2010, but its old headquarter on Nguyễn Bỉnh Khiêm Street, Hai Bà Trưng District was transferred to Ministry of Labour, Invalid and Social Affairs.

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment as well as the Ministry of Sciences and Technology have delayed handing over their old headquarter buildings, saying that the new headquarters fail to accommodate all of their staff.

National Assembly deputy Trần Thị Quốc Khánh, from Hà Nội, told Lao động ( Labour) newspaper that the relocation of ministries and State agencies’ offices was mentioned in laws including Law on Capital and Law on Planning.

She said that the Government should be more determined to move State agencies’ offices out of crowded inner districts.

Trần Ngọc Hùng, president of Việt Nam Construction Association, said that the public was concerned about the use of the land that previously housed State office headquarters.

The relocation of such offices was expected to reduce pressure on infrastructure and particularly traffic in inner districts. But if the land was used for housing projects or trade centres, traffic congestion would not be addressed, he said. — VNS