Hanoi to speed up renovations of old apartment buildings

Hanoi will speed up the comprehensive renovation and rebuilding old apartment buildings in the city, giving priority to ensuring people's livelihood stability and legitimate rights.

This was one of the main points of Decision No. 5289/QD-UBND of the "Project on Renovation and Reconstruction of Old Apartment Buildings in Hanoi" issued by the Hanoi Municipal People's Committee.

The city will accelerate the inspection plan on the progress of each old apartment building in 2021-2025, divided into four phases, and strive to complete the inspection of all old apartment buildings by the end of September 2023.

Over the years, the Hanoi People's Committee has assigned specific responsibilities to districts and related agencies to inspect and evaluate the quality of old apartments. Data collection on Hanoi's old apartment buildings is expected to be completed by the end of this month.

An old and dilapidated apartment complex in Hanoi's downtown Hoan Kiem district. Photo: Thuy Chi

After that, Hanoi will set up an evaluation council to approve the plan for compensation, support, relocation, and temporary housing for apartment owners and tenants.

According to Pham Tuan Long, Chairman of the Hoan Kiem District People's Committee, the district is currently conducting an inventory of all old apartments in the area to develop a specific renovation plan, and the severely deteriorated ones that affect people's lives will be repaired immediately.

"So far, Hoan Kiem District has completed the survey to determine the current status of 63/110 old apartment buildings. From now until the end of 2023, a census of all apartments in the area will be conducted to complete the apartment renovation project in the district. We will make a specific roadmap for each apartment building and inform the people in a timely manner," Long said.

He stressed that the goal of Hoan Kiem District is to achieve the highest consensus of the people in renovating deteriorated old flats in the area, ensuring the legal benefits of the people and considering this as the top priority.

"Renovation and new construction projects will only start when people agree on the temporary settlement and resettlement plan. There is no way people will lose their legal housing," the official added.

According to architect Pham Thanh Tung, head of the Vietnam Association of Architects office, the renovation of old apartments must ensure people's lives, aim at the city's socio-economic development, and be announced publicly and transparently.

Old apartment building C8 Giang Vo. Photo: Cong Hung/ The Hanoi Times

"The Government has a responsibility to protect people, and moving them out of dilapidated buildings is for their benefit," Tung stressed.

He added that to speed up the work of renovating and rebuilding old apartment complexes in the city, the mechanisms of land compensation, investor selection, and resettlement need to be further improved. The benefits for each party (investors and residents) should also be made clear.

Many people in Hanoi now live in dilapidated apartment buildings. There is a lot of pressure on the capital to relocate these people so that the authorities can renovate the buildings and ensure safety.

According to the city's Department of Construction, Hanoi has 1,579 apartment buildings built between the 1960s and 1990s, most located in metropolitan areas. Of these, 179 are classified as dangerous or severely damaged. 

The department said Hanoi has called for private investment in 28 dilapidated buildings. Some 16 investors have registered to participate in the renovation. However, they said a number of regulations on private investment in this aspect are not in line with reality.

Hanoi has planned to spend VND500 billion (US$21.7 million) in 2021-2025 to assess the quality of more than 1,500 old residential buildings to ensure safety. The assessment is part of the city's master plan to renovate and relocate residents from old apartment buildings to new ones by 2025.