"However, while speeding up the process, the quality of construction work must be ensured and little inconvenience should be caused to locals", said Hung. The city's steering committee for ground clearance and local governments should cooperate to accelerate land clearance, he said.
Vice Chairman Hung asked the Transport Department to carrying out the projects on schedule. "The city will consider granting capital which will be withdrawn from the city budget for the year 2017", he said. According to the representative, investors and contractors have completed procedures to soon realise the project. As scheduled, construction will be finished late this year and the building put into operation next year.
Hung asked Ha Dong's People's Committee to apply effective measures to speed up ground clearance work to help complete the project on schedule. "The city has released several policies on capital support and ground clearance. However, many investors and contractors have not made measures to speed up progress", he said. "For ground clearance, the city needs strong measures in cases where land for projects isn't handed over".
Accordingly, the district will have 26 land projects, including 19 unfinished plans of 2015, and seven new ones. About 15.76ha will be allocated for agriculture, while 521.99 ha will be used for non-agricultural purposes. The city has been asked to review and evaluate the feasibility of the projects, as well as collect ideas from the people to report to the committee before the end of May.
Hanoi should develop a specific plan to accelerate upgrades and repairs to local outdated buildings, especially ancient villas and structures, following the recent collapse of an ancient French villa in downtown Hanoi that left two dead and six injured, an expert said.
The monitoring and management of local ancient French villas, the majority of which are located in Ba Dinh and Hai Ba Trung districts, should be strengthened to ensure resident safety while preserving the values of the heritages. Not only outdated buildings, many residential areas in the Old Quarter should be crutinised for upgrading.
According to statistics, Hanoi has 1,586 ancient French villas, including 562 private-owned and 1,024 State-owned properties. The September 22 collapsed two-storey villa, located at No. 107 Tran Hung Dao street, Hoan Kiem district, is currently managed by the Zone 1 Railway Project Management Board.
The plan was a good idea to promote the value of pedestrianised streets but it was not feasible, the District Party Committee said. The District People's Committee has been asked to collect the opinion of local authorities, scientists and residents to prepare a feasible plan to carry out urban infrastructure projects in the Old Quarter.
Earlier, the People's Committee had sought the approval of the Hanoi People's Committee for paving 11 pedestrianised streets with natural stones, instead of cement bricks. The streets are Hang Ngang, Hang Dao, Hang Duong and Dong Xuan, as well as Hang Giay, Hang Buom, Luong Ngoc Quyen and Hang Giay, besides Dao Duy Tu, Ta Hien and Ma May.
The plan aims to improve the streets and make them easier to navigate for tourists and the local people. But the authorities had not sought the local people's opinion about the plan, the residents of the Old Quarter said.
