Hanoi authorities are planning to announce the list of apartment buildings violating fire prevention and fighting regulations, following a similar move in Ho Chi Minh City.

Chairman Nguyen Duc Chung assigned tasks for local authorities

At the Hanoi People’s Committee’s monthly meeting yesterday, Chairman Nguyen Duc Chung assigned the Hanoi Department of Construction and Fire Prevention Department to inspect Hanoi’s apartment buildings and compile a list of violators, asking them to effect repairs immediately.

According to the survey of the Hanoi Fire Prevention Department, by May 31 last year, 79 out of a total of nearly 800 apartment buildings in Hanoi violated the fire code.

The leading violators include Muong Thanh Group’s 11 buildings, followed by ACC Thang Long JSC’s Artemis Trade Centre in Thanh Xuan district, and Song Da Thang Long JSC’s CT1 Usilk City building in Hadong district.

By October 2017, 21 buildings have managed to repair violations, while 68 continued with subpar fire systems.

In addition, the Hanoi Fire Prevention Department also checked and handled four high-end apartment buildings that violated fire prevention rules, including Kinh Do Hotel Co., Ltd.’s Capital Garden building, Vietnam Construction and Investment Design JSC (VIDEC)’s Star Tower Condominium, Vinaconex-PVC Construction JSC’s PVV-VINAPHARM building, and Hanoi Song Hong Real Estate JSC’s office and trade service complex.

On March 29, the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee held a press conference to issue a directive to ensure fire safety at apartment and high-rise building projects. Accordingly, four main contents will be implemented, including a review of fire prevention measures in all apartment and high-rise buildings in the city, as well as compiling a public list of all buildings, categorising them as safe, moderately safe, and unsafe.

According to the Ho Chi Minh City Fire Prevention Department, the initial inspection results showed that seven high-rise buildings in the city where developers have permitted residents to move in have subpar fire prevention systems.

"These buildings will have to thoroughly resolve the existing problems to safeguard the lives of residents," said Nguyen Van Bang, deputy director of the Ho Chi Minh City Fire Prevention Department.

VIR