VietNamNet Bridge - "The National Assembly headquarters building is friendly with the Thang Long Imperial Citadel," Do Thieu Quang, deputy director of the management unit for the NA’s House and new Ba Dinh Hall construction project, has said in response to complaints about possible damage to the citadel, a World Heritage Site.

The road running between the legislative house and the Thang Long royal citadel. Scientists said that the road belongs to the National Assembly House but Quang said it is part of the relic site.

Earlier, the Chairman of the Vietnam Archaeology Association, Chairman of the Vietnam Cultural Heritage and Chairman of the Vietnam Historical Sciences sent a petition to the Government asking for urgent protection of the center of Thang Long Royal Citadel - a world heritage – reasoning that the construction of the NA House has violated the Law on Cultural Heritage and harmed the relic.

In an interview with Tuoi Tre Newspaper, Quang explained that two projects are being carried out on the grounds of the Thang Long Imperial Citadel: The National Assembly House and the 18 Hoang Dieu project (ie the Thang Long Royal Citadel conservation project).

Both projects are managed by Thieu’s NA House and new Ba Dinh Hall project management unit. Quang said the first project kicked off a long time ago while the second was assigned to his agency in late 2013.

According to Quang, the agency was assigned by Hanoi authorities to complete the first phase of the second project, including leveling archeological pits, building a temporary transportation system, planting grass, and more, along with the NA House project this August.

“I would like to make it clear that to implement the conservation project of the Thang Long Royal Citadel, many temporary works must be dismantled, including the temporary houses for archeologists, the warehouse, the concrete ground of the temporary car park of the National Assembly and others,” Quang explained.

He said as the two projects are implemented at the same time, on the same ground, they would influence on each other. The construction materials and waste on the ground of the Thang Long Imperial Citadel are the materials used for the conservation project and the waste comes from the dismantling of temporary works on the relic site, he added.

The official also said that building workers do not live on the land of the relic site. Workers have to use temporary toilets in the area because there is no public toilet there, but they clean the toilet every day and they do not affect the relic site.

Experts said that the adjustment of the design and the building of an internal road has harmed the relic and violated the Law on Cultural Heritage, but Quang said that the road was not adjusted at all and his agency is working on a plan that was approved by the government in 2012.

“I would like to make it clear that in the conservation project there is a road running between the relic site and the NA House. This will be the ‘soft boundary’ between the two works. We will plant grass and cover the road with stones later. When both projects are completed, the relationship between the NA House and the royal citadel will be very friendly, without any fence or separation,” Quang said.

He once again confirmed that the two projects are being implemented under the approved plan.

“I think that any Vietnamese is well aware of the tremendous value of the Thang Long royal citadel, cherishes and protects it. I personally and other construction workers always remind each other that we are responsible to protect this heritage and this is as important as the responsibility to build the NA House,” Quang said.

Over 1,600 people are working on the construction site of the National Assembly House. It is expected that this work will be completed in October before the National Assembly’s 8th session.

During the construction of this building, the National Assembly’s sessions were held at the Hall of the Ministry of Defense. The National Assembly House and the new Ba Dinh Hall project kicked off in September 2009 by the Ministry of Construction. The main consultant is GMP of Germany.

In an urgent petition submitted to the Prime Minister on July 18, scientists expressed deep concern that "the construction of a road around the nearly completed National Assembly building severely affected zones C and D of the World Heritage site, which lie in the vicinity".

Signed by the chairs of the Vietnam Association of Historical Sciences, the Vietnam Cultural Heritage Association and the Vietnamese Archaeologists Association, the paper describes excavation pits that were damaged and inundated with rain water and rubbish, while construction materials, motorbikes, public mobile toilets and construction workers' shelters filled the area.

"The infringement is not simply a violation of UNESCO convention but goes against our commitment... that the construction of the new National Assembly building would not affect the integrity of the Imperial Citadel relics," said Mr. Nguyen Quang Ngoc, vice chairman of the Vietnam Association of Historical Sciences and a member of the Advisory Council of the Hanoi People's Committee on Thang Long Citadel.

The archaeological excavation at 18 Hoang Dieu Street started in 2002, with the goal of preparing for the National Assembly building project.

However, it revealed a wealth of monuments and relics that demonstrated the development of dynasties in Thang Long (now Ha Noi).

The Central Sector of the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long was recognised as a World Heritage site by the UN cultural agency in 2010.

The petition reiterates that the construction was carried out without any supervision by conservation authorities.

"Heritage specialists have rarely been allowed to enter this area since the start of the construction," historian Ngoc said.

The petition also points out that strict regulations stipulated in the Law on Cultural Heritage had been ignored, leading to serious damage to the relics.

"The construction of the buffer area around the National Assembly building was allowed, provided that the structure did not go more than one metre deep to avoid hurting the heritage. However, a concrete wall was built too close to the excavation pits. Some sections are three to four metres high, surpassing the allowed level," said head of the Vietnamese Archaeologists Association, Tong Trung Tin.

"The site must be tidied up immediately. The surface must be cleaned and something must be done to save the inundated excavation pits," said Mr. Luu Tran Tieu, chairman of the Viet Nam Cultural Heritage Association.

The Hanoi People's Committee has asked the National Assembly building project's management board to work with the Conversation Centre of the Thang Long-Hanoi Relics to pump water out of the excavation pits and clear materials, and to ensure that the work will not affect the archaeological site.

Phuong Linh