VietNamNet Bridge – The resettlement plan to relocate thousands of people in Hoan Kiem District's Old Quarter to the Viet Hung New Urban Area will soon be finalised and submitted for official approval of the Ha Noi People's Committee this August, a meeting heard yesterday, July 7, in Ha Noi.

The Hoan Kiem District's authorities, leaders from Ha Noi People's Committee and other State departments and agencies attended the meeting to discuss the implementation of the plan. The goal is to reduce the high population density of the Old Quarter and solve problems concerning the degraded living environment there.

According to a 2009 census, the population density of the Old Quarter is around 82,300 persons per square kilometre, much higher than the standard set for the 2020 population plan of 50,000 persons per square kilometres.

The relocation process, however, has stalled as the project received little support from the residents.

Nguyen Thi Phuong, a resident of the Old Quarter's Hang Bac Street, said that it would be "very difficult" to move people, especially those who own shops and do business.

According to Phuong, the property price of houses in the Old Quarter is very high, with the great number of tourists and convenient business location.

"People do not want to abandon their land because an inch of ground is an inch of gold."

Phuong added, however, that those who lived in old, small and dilapidated houses in the area might want to move to a better place.

Nguyen Hoang Long, a fourth-year student living on Cau Go street in the quarter, also cast his doubts over the feasibility of the plan.

He agreed that the people were hesitant to move because of the high property price in the area, implying that the government would have to offer a highly favourable compensation to get people's approval.

Long added that many households had lived in the quarter for many generations and did not want to change their lifestyles.

He said, however, that he would agree to move if asked because he agreed with the need to reduce the quarter's population density.

In an earlier interview with Viet Nam News, Vu Thi Vinh, chief of Viet Nam Association of Cities' administrative office expressed the same opinion as she said that residents were worried about new accommodations.

"There is a popular psychology that people often choose to live in the places where they have lived for a long time, even if a new one could be better," added Vinh.

According to the People's Committee of Hoan Kiem District, in the first phase of the plan, about 1,800 houses with approximately 7,200 residents will be moved at a cost of VND4 trillion (US$186 million).

A committee survey on more than 950 households shows that nearly 27 per cent questioned agreed to move.

Nguyen Van Khoi, deputy chairman of Ha Noi People's Committee said that the approvals of these households were signs of the success of this first phase.

Hoan Kiem District urged city authorities to quickly approve the plan so that the district's People's Committee could work out favourable housing and property pricing policies for the people and investors. The plan will prevent the continued population growth in the Old Quarter.

The move will initially focus on families that have been living in monuments, temples and pagodas, schools, State offices and those who do not have proper living conditions. Those in the buildings on the verge of collapse as well as households that volunteer to relocate are also a priority.

Viet Hung New Urban Area, the movers' destination, is located in Long Bien District and 8 kilometres off the city's centre.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News