Vũ Văn Viện . Photo tienphong.vn

Vũ Văn Viện, director of the Hà Nội Department of Transport speaks to Tiền Phong (Vanguard) newspaper about its plan to keep good transport flow for Hà Nội during upcoming new year festivals

Has the transport department adopted any plan to avoid transport congestion for the upcoming 2020 New Year and Lunar New Year festivals?

Every year, a few days before Tết – the Lunar New Year, Hà Nội's streets are overcrowded. To solve this problem, Hà Nội transport authorities have recently adopted a plan on how to keep roads clear, for both the calendar new year and Lunar New Year.

Hà Nội traffic police have developed a detailed plan on co-operation with concerned agencies to ensure good traffic flow in 92 road sections which are likely to be congested during the holidays. For example, the Hà Nội Police Traffic Department has worked with the Hà Nội transport department to develop plans on how to solve any problem if it occurs. Meanwhile, the Hà Nội transport department has adopted a plan to repair all road sections which are seriously degraded before January 1, 2020.

Traffic congestion has become a big problem in Hà Nôi almost year-round, not only around Tết. Do you think the plan adopted by municipal authorities is strong enough?

The Hà Nội transport department has worked with the Hà Nội Police Department to develop a plan on how to solve traffic congestion in the city for the upcoming calendar and Lunar New Year festivals. For example, we have developed a detailed plan on how to divert lorries and coaches from entering the inner city and the third ring road.

We have also come up with a plan to move the Tết flower markets to the right roads or the entrances to Hà Nội’s inner city. To make sure our plan is strictly implemented, we have developed a plan to increase co-operation between the city’s inspectors and transport police to make sure law and order will be strictly implemented.

Have Hà Nội authorities adopted any measure to sanction taxi/lorry drivers who drive on prohibited streets?

In its plan No.11826, the Hà Nội transport department has assigned the Hà Nội Transport Inspectors to develop a detailed inspection plan on keeping the road clear during the Lunar New Year Festival in the inner city. If they detect any drivers violating the law they should report immediately to the Hà Nội Transport Department to take actions.

Besides, nowadays, all commercial auto-vehicles have GPS devices installed. So through the GPS, the Hà Nội transport department would know if a driver is violating the traffic law or not.

Under current law, lorries are not allowed to enter the inner city during the day. However, in some cases, lorries are given special permits to enter the inner city. Yet, Hà Nội authorities do not grant any permit to a lorry carrying construction materials to enter the third ring road and then go further into the inner city during the day time. — VNS