HÀ NỘI — Owners of illegal outdoor advertising billboards in Hà Nội have been asked to remove them by September 3, or the relevant authorities will take corrective action.

The billboard owners will have to pay for the removal.

Early this year, Hà Nội People’s Committee Chairman Nguyễn Đức Chung called for drastic measures in addressing the widespread advertising violations in the city, which are said to have damaged the urban face of the city and posed a threat to people’s safety.

The city’s Culture and Sports Department recorded 190 large posters and 149 electric billboards illegally displayed along roads, including 68 along Thăng Long–Nội Bài expressway in Sóc Sơn District, 26 in Nam Từ Liêm District and two in Cầu Giấy District.

Some of the illegal posters have been displayed for years. Local authorities have asked their owners to remove them many times, but the owners neglected to do so because of the high profits such posters generated for them.

Chairman Chung said all of the illegal posters must be removed from all frames, surfaces and pillars, regardless of opinions that the removal would cost the business too much.

Director of Culture and Sports Department Tô Văn Động said that although some of the posters/billboards were in areas that had been designated for advertising by the city’s planning department, none of them would be exempt from removal.

“If a business wants to place advertisements in the designated areas, they must apply for approval,” he said.

The municipal committee had given businesses time to remove the illegal advertisements, but if they delayed removing them, the local authority could force the issue, he said.

Besides paying for the removal, the violators could be suspended from operating in the city, he said.

However, as of this week, few illegal posters and billboards have been taken down, including three in Cầu Giấy District and three in Ba Đình District. — VNS