HÀ NỘI — Hà Nội expected to open 250 new public toilets this year, but so far, only 98 have been opened - and only about 40 are in use.

Construction of the new public toilets was approved last year.

Slow land clearance and unco-operative residents are blamed for the delay.

In August last year, the municipal People’s Committee approved the construction of 1,000 public toilets throughout the city for ten years. A local private company - Vinasing Trading and Communication Joint Stock Company decided to invest in the work. In exchange, it was allowed to use footbridges and overspasses for advertising for 10 years.

The company claimed it would build, maintain and operate 1,000 environmentally-friendly, high-quality public toilets around the city.

Head of the company’s project management board, Lê Đức Thùy, said that the company faced difficulty carrying out the project.

He blamed local authorities for failing to complete land clearances for the work in time.

By August 20 this year, after the company worked with the city’s Infrastructure Development and Maintenance Committee and districts’ authorities, 36 locations were identified for toilet construction.

To date, the company has received legal documents to start construction at 27 locations, he said.

Thùy said that many residents opposed the construction of toilets in their neighbourhood, forcing a halt to work near Hào Nam Lake in Đống Đa District, Tuổi Thơ Park in Pháp Vân-Tứ Hiệp Urban Area, on Trịnh Công Sơn Street in Tây Hồ District or near Phú La Primary School in Hà Đông District.

Local residents did not want to have a public toilet near their houses because of the stinky smell that the toilet could produce. Meanwhile, the company explained that the toilets would be built with deodorant technology and they would be cleaned frequently. — VNS