Hanoi to speed up renovation efforts for old apartments
Hanoi to speed up renovation efforts for old apartments
Hanoi People's Committee is focussed on speeding up the renovation of old apartments and the construction of resettlement housing to improve people’s lives, according to Duong Duc Tuan, Deputy Chairman of Hanoi People's Committee and deputy head of the Steering Committee for the renovation of old apartment buildings in Hanoi.
The deputy chairman was speaking at a working session with districts, departments, and agencies on December 3.
Mac Dinh Minh, deputy director of Hanoi Department of Construction, reported on the results of three years of implementing the project. Local people's committees have begun their assigned tasks, such as issuing implementation plans, relocating households out of dangerous level D houses, inspections, studying areas for renovation and reconstruction, and collecting public opinion.
"The renovation and reconstruction of old apartment buildings in Hanoi has fallen behind and is too slow based on the timeline set out in the project and the plans," Minh said.
According to the general construction plan for the capital, and the urban zoning plan, some apartment buildings do not meet the planning criteria. Many old apartment building locations were intended as green areas and parks, and the current population is higher than the plan set forth.
"Due to the limitations of the number of floors of the building and the planned population, it is very difficult to ensure investment efficiency, not attracting investors to renovate and reconstruct apartment buildings," Minh added.
Some apartment buildings are no longer in their original state, with extensive repairs and expansion, causing further difficulties in inspecting and assessing the quality of apartment buildings and determining apartment buildings' boundaries.
Districts have not yet assessed the technical infrastructure for fire prevention and fighting; water supply, drainage, wastewater treatment; electricity supply, internal traffic and requirements for urban renovation and beautification. These cause difficulties in assessment and conclusion according to the provisions of Decree No.69/2021/ND-CP (formerly), now Law on Housing 2023 and Decree No.98/2024/ND-CP.
"The developers have not yet agreed on compensation, support, temporary residence and resettlement plans because the owners require too much compensation. Legal documents of homeownership are not available fully, so it is difficult to determine the area in the project," Minh explained.
At the meeting, Hanoi Department of Construction recommended districts complete the detailed planning according to the direction of Hanoi People's Committee, determining the boundary scope of component projects for investment phases. They must conduct inspections soon, according to Law on Housing 2023, and Decree No.98/2024/ND-CP.
"It is necessary to review and make a list of apartment buildings, send it to Hanoi Department of Construction for synthesis, report to Hanoi People's Committee to update it in the Inspection Plan and send it to the city's Department of Planning and Architecture for synthesis," Minh said.
Departments and agencies preside over and guide the people's committees of districts to establish and approve detailed plans at a scale of 1/500 for the renovation and reconstruction of old apartment buildings in line with the direction of Hanoi People's Committee.
Vice Chairman Duong Duc Tuan assigned the Department of Construction to build a general report assessing the existing problems, identifying limitations, and proposing measures to handle the existing problems and shortcomings in the implementation.
"The Department of Construction should have an overarching plan, propose the Steering Committee and Hanoi People's Committee to direct the acceleration of implementation progress," said Tuan.
Tuan assigned the Department of Planning and Architecture to work with districts and guide the planning work, with the first phase expected to be complete in the first quarter of next year.
