VietNamNet Bridge – The HCM City People's Committee has approved a pilot project to move the HCM City University of Foreign Languages and Information Technology (HUFLIT) and the International University AIT campuses to the Tay Bac Urban Area in Cu Chi District.

The city's Urban Management Board, in co-operation with the Department of Planning and Architecture, will be responsible for allocating a suitable area of land for each university and school.

The International University AIT will be given priority and granted 23-25ha to expedite work on its relocation.

The pilot project follows a decision issued by the Prime Minister to complete the moving of universities and colleges in HCM City and Ha Noi to the cities' outskirts by 2025.

The decision aims to reduce traffic congestion in the cities, improve the quality of universities, develop university networks and meet the demand for highly skilled professionals.

Between 2011 and 2015, HCM City plans to move five universities and colleges to outskirt areas.

The city has also set up zoning plans for a total area of 2,210ha to move its universities and colleges from downtown areas – 600ha in Cu Chi District, 735ha in District 7 and Nha Be District, and 815ha in District 9 and Thu Duc District.

Slow process

In 2006, the Ministry of Education and Training had announced plans to move universities from the city's inner areas to the outskirts and build a network of higher education institutions meeting international standards by 2012.

However no university has been relocated so far.

Complicated procedures and a lack of investment capital have stalled implementation of these plans for several years.

The Van Hien University, for instance, was allocated 5.7ha of land in Binh Chanh District's Phong Phu Commune in 2007, but the land stands empty to date.

Nguyen Mong Hung, rector of the Van Hien University, said his university had set up a management board for construction and continued working with the district authorities over the last four years.

However, the project was stuck in land clearance and compensation problems, Hung said.

Not a single square metre of the allocated land area had been cleared so far, he said.

Also in 2007, the HCM City Law University came to an agreement with the HCM City People's Committee to move to a 40ha land area in District 9's Long Phuoc Commune.

However, the District 9 People's Committee has not completed its detail urban construction zoning plan so far, delaying all related projects including the university's relocation.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News