Lê Văn Dục, director of the Hà Nội Department of Construction, talks to the Kinh tế & Đô thị (Economic and Urban Affairs) newspaper on the measures to tackle construction violations in the city

How does the Hà Nội Department of Construction handle projects that violate the city’s construction laws?

I should say the work of urban planning and construction in Hà Nội has seen quite a few achievements. The most noticeable success was the  year-on-year increase in the number of construction projects with licenses and permits from authorised agencies. However, due to rapid urbanisation, we have faced a lot of challenges in construction management. Due to high benefits, many project owners have deliberately added more stories to their liscenced projects.

As a State management agency, has the Hà Nội Department of Construction adopted any measures to ensure law and order in construction activities?

We have adopted a number of solutions to ensure that construction activities are synchronous to other activities in the city. I want to mention three major measures.

First, with the guideline “prevention is better than cure,” our department has launched various communication campaigns focused on raising the general public’s legal knowledge, particularly in the field of construction

Second, the Hà Nội Department of Construction has recently co-ordinated with the Hà Nội municipal Inspection Office and the Department of Home Affairs to conduct inspections on construction activities in the city. Through those missions, we have detected a number of projects violating the city’s construction laws. As a result, 89 people have been sanctioned due to their violations of professional ethics codes.

Third, our department of construction has been pro-active in co-operating with concerned agencies and advised the Hà Nội Municipal People’s Committee to ask the Prime Minister’s permission to create a pilot Law Enforcement Management Team affiliated with the district people’s committees. With the approval of the Prime Minister, all Hà Nội districts have their own Law Enforcement Management Team. As a result, up to 90 per cent of the remaining problems in the city’s construction sector have been settled.

Though all districts have their own construction inspectors, construction violations are still reported from time to time. How do you respond to such violations?

After receiving reports on construction violations in their districts, all concerned public agencies adopted measures to solve those violations. As the result, the number of encroachments in construction projects in Hà Nội’s outlying districts has been reduced considerably.

To ensure law and order in construction activities in Hà Nội, including in outlying districts, we have written a draft regulation on construction activities in the City detailing the specific rights and responsibilities of concerned authorities and each individual in civil construction activities. That proposal is now on the Hà Nội Municipal People’s Committee’s table for approval.

To restore law and order in the construction sector, has the Hà Nội Department of Construction come up with new measures?

We will work closely with concerned agencies, including with the mass media to raise awareness among the general public on the enforcement of all regulations.

The Hà Nội Department of Construction vows to do their best to implement all legal documents governing construction activities and to settle once for all the remaining issues in areas which are subject to our management.

Last but not least, we ask the Hà Nội municipal People’s Committee to take tough measures against chairperson of any district, township or commune that has failed to perform their assigned duty. We also ask the Hà Nội authorities to facilitate conditions for them to undertake their assignments. — VNS