VietNamNet Bridge - Hanoi has been calling for investment to renovate and rebuild 10 old apartment buildings, at a total cost of VND316.8 trillion (nearly US$15 billion).

An old apartment building in Hanoi.

This figure is equivalent to more than half the city’s gross regional domestic product (GRDP) in 2015 (about $27.6 billion).

The biggest projects include the Ngoc Khanh dormitories with VND47,000 billion, Thanh Cong dormitories with VND44,000 billion, Nghia Tan dormitories with VND42,800 billion, and Kim Lien dormitories with VND42,600 billion.

Other projects consist of the dormitories of Quynh Mai, Tan Mai, Giang Vo, Vinh Ho, Trung Tu and Khuong Thuong. The last project has the lowest investment of VND 6,000 billion.

In February 2016, Hanoi published a list of 42 dormitories of serious degradation. Among them the apartment building of the highest dangerous level (D) are G6A building of Thanh Cong dormitories, building A of Ngoc Khanh dormitories and the apartment building of the Ministry of Justice in Ba Dinh District.

In mid April 2016, the Hanoi People's Committee issued a decision on relocating households in these buildings to ensure the safety of people and property.

Currently, in big cities, many apartment buildings and public works are seriously damaged after a long time of use. They have shown signs of structural weakness, cracks and tilting, threatening people living and working there.

However, there is a shortage of legal documents on the management of these buildings and a shortage of funding for the maintenance and repair works. Thus, the management and inspection on the use of these buildings have remained weak, he said.

The collapse of a 110-year-old mansion in Hanoi that left two dead last September has alarmed the public about the safety and management of old houses.

The old French house, like many others in the city, had been changed significantly to meet the living and working requirement of residents. It had been seriously degraded with many cracks before it collapsed.

Figures from the ministry showed that in Hanoi, there are about 1,500 apartment buildings built before 1994 and 1,500 old French villas built before 1954.

In HCM City, the numbers are 1,000 and more than 2,000 respectively, and over 10,000 old State-owned houses. The total number of houses that need to be inspected is about 15,000.

In 2015, Hanoi conducted preliminary assessment of more than 1,250 out of 1,500 apartment buildings.

Linh Nhat