HÀ NỘI — A major water park in the centre of Hà Nội is not operational due to management issues between concerned authorities. 

The Tuổi Trẻ Thủ Đô water park, located in Hai Bà Trưng District’s Thanh Nhàn Ward, has not been in operation for nearly a decade. 

Four years after it was opened for public use in 2003, the water park was shut down and it remains inactive till date, the zing.vn online newspaper reported.

After years of being abandoned, the giant wheel in the park has deteriorated and become a danger in the stormy season for residents who live in neighbouring areas. 

The stairs that lead to the 20-30m waterslide tubes are rusty. The whirlpool and pools now contain stagnant, foul-smelling water. According to Triệu Như Long, vice chairman of the People’s Committee of Thanh Nhàn Ward, the city’s People’s Committee decided to hand over construction to a new investor in June. 

However, the transfer was not completed since its original investor still holds a debt of nearly VNĐ100 billion (US$4.4 million).

“This debt has been accumulating over the years and has become difficult to calculate for the authorities,” Long said. 

Nguyễn Xuân Hưng, deputy director of the Hà Nội Green Tree Development Joint Stock Company, the new investor of the water park, told the zing.vn that the company is not officially in charge of the park since the concerned authorities have not completed the handover process. 

The company has conducted no other management activities at the park apart from tree maintenance and trimming of lawns, he said.

According to Thanh Nhàn Ward’s People’s Committee Vice Chairman Long, a recent examination of the park conducted by the Hà Nội Department of Planning and Architecture revealed that there were six items that violated construction regulations. 

“[The ward] has completed all documentation on the violated items but has not received further directions from the people’s committees of Hai Bà Trưng District and the city,” he said. 

He added that in October, the city assigned a specialised construction group to examine the park and create maps that showed the condition of all items within its area. 

The group has showed no signs of action on the assignment till date, he said.

The construction of the park started in April 2001, for which the government ordered clearance of nearly 263,000sq.m of land on Thanh Nhàn and Võ Thị Sáu streets. 

The park was considered one of the nine major construction projects of the city. 

In June, the Hà Nội Department of Planning and Architecture announced a detailed plan to turn the park into an “open park for the city’s youth,” with total area of 26.43ha. — VNS