City districts call for delayed projects to be cancelled

City districts call for delayed projects to be cancelled

Five districts have proposed to the HCM City administration that they cancel several dozen real estate and public works projects that have been unduly delayed.

A Tuoi Tre (The Youth) report said last week that most of the delayed projects are located in new and upgraded residential areas.

Local authorities in outskirts districts, meanwhile, said they did not have the funds and other conditions needed to carry out several projects like parks and other public works.

The District 10 People's Committee says there are several projects that affect the daily life and interests of residents that should be scrapped.

These include high-rise apartment complexes that cover existing residential areas in wards 1, 2 and 15 that are difficult to clear, and the project to enlarge the Sai Gon Trade Centre which would affect the interests of 750 households and is, therefore, not feasible.

It has also several projects whose feasibility has been reassessed, including projects to enlarge a park and expand three schools. These would adversely affect the interests of 500 households and should not be continued, local authorities said.

They also said that while persisting with high-rise projects planned at the site of old and badly rundown apartment complexes like Ngo Gia Tu and An Quang, the city should cancel plans for new, high-rise residential areas and allow current residents to upgrade their houses by themselves.

Tan Binh District plans to build 21 high-rise apartments and upgrade residential areas that have been on paper since 2008. These projects affect the lives of more than 3,000 households and should be cancelled, local authorities have suggested.

In Tan Phu District, several existing residential areas have been earmarked for parks, apartment complexes or industrial areas. At the same time, the district has a lot of land taken up by factories that have been defunct for a long time as well as land where factories have not been built as planned.

District authorities are proposing that the city moves the site of planned parks, apartment complexes and industrial areas from the existing residential areas to sites that have been left idle for a long time.

The District 8 People's Committee says projects most delayed in their locality are parks and a "secure corridor" along the Ong Lon River and the Doi, Te Ong Nho, Hiep An and Du canals.

The longest delay has occurred in the area between Doi canal and Pham The Hien Street, from ward 1 to ward 7.

Thousands of households have been impacted by the park project being carried out along the Doi canal for the ten years or so. The affected people do not know when they will receive compensation for relocation so that they can build new lives.

The district also plans to build several dozen auxiliary streets, public works and schools that will affect many households. These projects have been delayed by 10 to 20 years, but the district wants to keep them because they have to do with maintaining traffic flows and green spaces.

The District 8 People's Committee said it has been allowed to issue temporary building permits to residents in areas where projects have been delayed for a long time, but this was not a practical option in the long run.

It proposed that the city allows temporary building permits issued for households in project areas to be turned into official permits if the projects have been delayed for five years or more. Households in such areas should be considered eligible to receive title to their homes.

The committee has also said that in areas where a decision has been taken to revoke land, erstwhile residents should be allowed to rebuild their houses of the same as the existing ones instead of being restricted to carrying out repairs.

The city should also introduce specific time limits for payment of land compensation so as to prevent inordinate delays by project investors, the committee said.

The District 2 People's Committee has proposed that the city identifies key projects and priority infrastructure areas that need investment.

The municipal administration should also devise a plan to check the rate of progress made by projects so that timely adjustments, including the revoking of licenses, can be made in case the investor is deemed incapable of continuing to implement the project, the committee said.

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