Residents whose lives have been turned upside down by the Thu Thiem New Urban Area development project in District 2 have again expressed their opposition to the inspection findings of the Government Inspectorate, reported the local media.

Residents whose lives are affected by the Thu Thiem New Urban Area development project in District 2 observe the meeting via TV screen 

The city’s chairman, Nguyen Thanh Phong, held another meeting earlier today, November 14, with the affected residents in the Thu Thiem neighborhood, especially those from the wards of An Khanh, An Loi Dong and Thu Thiem, to discuss the compensation policy for their acquired land.

Opening the meeting, municipal chief inspector Nguyen Long Tuyen informed local residents of the Government Inspectorate’s Notice 1483 containing the inspection findings of the controversial project.

In particular, some 4.3 hectares of land in Binh An Ward – a key hot spot in Thu Thiem – was outside the zoned boundary of the project. The municipal government in previous tenures did not present any compensation plans, despite the request of the central Government.

Besides this, the municipal authority did not present a master zoning plan on a 1/5000 scale for the planned resettlement site of 160 hectares. Instead, it submitted a plan for an area covering only 42 hectares.

Chairman Phong told the affected residents that at the request of the Government Inspectorate, the municipal government was striving to canvass locals’ opinions and create a compensation policy for those affected by the project.

Phong added that the central Government had already set up a team, comprising the Government Inspectorate and various ministries, to look into the possible irregularities surrounding the 160-hectare resettlement site.

He then asked the chairman of District 2, Nguyen Phuoc Hung, to announce 10 cases in which the municipal government planned to offer compensation to 2,000 affected households that reportedly lived within the 4.3-hectare zone based on the illegal acquisition.

However, residents at the meeting seemed indifferent to these cases, reasoning that their plots of land were also beyond the approved boundaries of the project and should be addressed accordingly.

Hoang Thang Long, a resident of An Khanh Ward, claimed that his plot of land was not located within these boundaries but was illegally acquired.

Long added that the inspection findings of the Government Inspectorate were only the tip of the iceberg, thereby lacking legal substance to deal with the numerous complaints from locals.

“It (Notice 1483) does not solve all problems that residents in Thu Thiem have persistently complained about over the past 10 years,” he remarked, expressing hope that Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc would establish an interdisciplinary inspection team to check all the complaints.

He stressed that all five residential quarters in the three wards of Binh An, An Khanh and Binh Khanh were beyond the boundaries, not just the first residential quarter of Binh An Ward.

Nguyen Thi Cam My of An Loi Dong Ward claimed that her house was forcibly acquired in 2009. However, her family received no compensation because the house had no address.

“My house is located on a residential plot of 540 square meters, with annual tax payments being made… It is the illegal acquisition that has pushed my family to ‘the final road’ – no home to live in and our children unable to go to school,” she said. She proposed the city chairman resolve her case to bring justice for her family.

Concluding the meeting, the city’s chairman pledged to report to the central Government the proposal to inspect the entire project to determine whether the five residential quarters are located outside the zoned boundaries.

“Our responsibility is to solve the Thu Thiem issues on the basis of ensuring the interests of the locals. Anyone who committed violations will be penalized in line with the law,” Phong stressed.

Covering a total area of 657 hectares along the Saigon River in HCMC, the Thu Thiem peninsula is expected to transform into a new commercial, financial, cultural and tourism hub of the city, serving as an extension of the city’s current central business district.

In making room for the large-scale project, which was approved in 1996, the municipal government has spent over 10 years to complete demolition and site clearance works for most of the peninsula, with nearly 15,000 households already relocated.

SGT