VietNamNet Bridge – The Ministry of Construction has been assigned by the Government to review urban planning in Hanoi and HCMC to propose solutions for worsening traffic congestion in the country’s two biggest cities, Deputy Minister of Construction Le Quang Hung said.

File photo of a traffic snarl in HCMC. The Ministry of Construction has been assigned by the Government to review urban planning in Hanoi and HCMC to propose solutions for worsening traffic congestion - Photo: Thanh Hoa/SGT

Tran Trong Tuan, director of the HCMC Department of Construction, said at a meeting of the ministry in Hanoi last week that traffic congestion in Hanoi and HCMC had resulted partly from the mushrooming of condo buildings, especially in downtown areas.

Infrastructure development has failed to keep up with fast growth in apartment towers.

Tran Ngoc Chinh, chairman of the Vietnam Urban Planning and Development Association, said that hospitals and schools in these cities have not been moved out of inner-city areas and to make matters worse, they have even been expanded, putting pressure on the current infrastructure systems.

At the conference, Minister of Construction Pham Hong Ha said urbanization is an inevitable trend but poor planning has led society to pay a dear price.

Deputy Minister of Construction Do Duc Duy said the average housing area was around 22.8 square meters per person nationwide last year, a rise of 0.8 square meter over 2015.

SGT