HÀ NỘI — Authorities in the capital plan to get tough on slow construction projects.

Hà Nội People’s Committee Chairman Nguyễn Đức Chung recently said 47 construction projects running behind schedule will be discontinued and have their licences revoked.

He was speaking at a hearing on the delayed progress and legal violations plaguing projects implemented with Government capital, held by the city People’s Council yesterday.

Nguyễn Thị Bích Ngọc, chairwoman of Hà Nội People’s Council, said land is one of the most important resources for the development of the city.

The council’s inspection of eight municipal departments and 30 localities found vast tracts of land idle where construction is supposed to be happening, “affecting people’s lives and production activities,” Ngọc said.

From the beginning of the year to August 10, the city authorities have approved and granted land for 1,023 projects using Government’s capital to the tune of VNĐ846.2 trillion (US$36.1 million).

Of these, Hà Nội Department of Environment and Natural Resources reported only 161 projects are behind schedule and possibly violating land law, while the People’s Council inspection showed the number might be as many as 383, mostly in the outlying districts of Hoài Đức, Mê Linh and Nam Từ Liêm.

People’s Council delegations at the hearing pointed out several projects that have been on hold for more than a decade, and asked for immediate measures to address this waste of land resources.

Nguyễn Trọng Đông, director of the municipal environment and resources department, said that in 2013, the new land law was adopted, causing many already approved projects to undergo modifications and experience delays in land clearance.

In 2012-15, a period when the real estate scene was lukewarm, land developers were not “proactive in co-operating with local authorities to resolve their problems, leading to additional delays,” Đông said.

Chairman Chung said while the cause for these issues was mostly to do with the contractors’ limited capabilities, the municipal finance and planning departments are responsible for vetting these contractors before granting them projects.

Nguyễn Mạnh Quyền, director of the municipal planning and investment department, said the department will review each delayed project and help investors overcome bottlenecks.

The department will name and shame investors who failed to follow through their commitments and decline future investment applications.

According to Chung, Hà Nội is building a database and management software, one that will compile all projects under the management of different departments in the city, to exercise better control of projects using Government capital. — VNS