HÀ NỘI – The Hà Nội Construction Joint Stock Company No 3 (Hanco3)’s proposal to demolish three resettlement buildings which have been deserted for a decade caused a stir over the huge waste of State resources, with the capital facing a severe shortage of resettlement homes and cheap housing.

The three buildings with a total of 150 apartments were completed in 2007 in Sài Đồng New Urban Area, Long Biên District, for residents which were affected by the project to expand Sài Đồng Street, Long Biên District. However, no residents moved into the apartments, leaving the buildings deserted and suffering from severe degradations.

Trần Văn Phát, a resident in Sài Đồng New Urban Area, said that demolishing these buildings was wasteful considering Hà Nội’s shortage of affordable housing.

One citizen asked why the developer did not sell these apartments at reasonable prices instead of demolishing them, adding that many people would want to buy them at better prices.

According to Vũ Ngọc Đạm, Head of Urban Development Department under the municipal Department of Construction, the developer was required to hire a consultant agency to evaluate two options, repairing and upgrading the project or demolishing and rebuilding it. However, the developer did not report on this to authorities by a September 30 deadline.

It is estimated that there are about 1,000 resettlement apartments deserted in the city, according to the municipal construction department.

Each year, the city spends about VNĐ2 trillion (US$87.7 million) on resettlement housing projects, an insufficient amount to satisfy demand.

A representative from Cầu Giấy District People’s Committee said construction and services quality of resettlement housing projects were poor, and together with a shortage of surrounding infrastructure and facilities, people didn’t want to live there.

Recently, the municipal People’s Committee proposed the Government put in place a special mechanism to order developers to build 22,300 commercial apartments to add to the housing stock for resettlement by 2020.

According to Đạm, with this mechanism, quality of homes for resettlements would be improved and the accountability of developers would be enhanced.

Hà Nội started piloting this mechanism for six projects with a total of more than 4,300 apartments which were expected to be completed by 2020.

Hanco3 reportedly wanted to demolish their three deserted buildings to build commercial apartments for resettlement as part of the city’s pilot.

The city aims to complete land clearance for about 2,700 projects by 2020 which would require resettlement for more than 19,000 households. - VNS