HÀ NỘI — Chairman of Hà Nội People’s Committee, Nguyễn Đức Chung, has tasked the city’s inspectorate with investigating the paving of sidewalks throughout districts in the city and asked for results by the end of this month.

The re-paving of sidewalks is one of the People’s Committee’s measures to enhance the appearance of the city and improve “urban civility.”

At the end of 2016, many inner districts have started resurfacing work on existing “degraded pavements” with slabs of natural stone that the authorities claimed to be “sturdy for the next 50-70 years.” The city planned to repave 936 streets in 12 districts by 2020.

However, last month, reports of visible cracks and damage to the newly-laid pavements on many streets caused residents to question the quality of the material used.

Nguyễn Xuân Lưu, chairman of Thanh Xuân District People’s Committee – one of the first districts to carry out the programme, said the damaged sections will certainly need to be replaced.

The cost of replacing the damaged sections, combined with reports of paving work carried out even on sidewalks in good condition, further fuelled concerns of waste.

Chairman Chung ordered that the inspection will focus on the “past and ongoing paving projects in districts.”

Nguyễn Nguyên Quân, head of the urban affairs committee (under the People’s Council), admitted that “paving construction in some locations failed to meet desired quality,” but noted that the cracks were isolated incidents and not a widespread problem on the newly paved sidewalks.

Speaking to the media on the sidelines of a People’s Council meeting on Monday, chief of the city’s inspectorate, Nguyễn An Huy, said that the agency is willing to investigate any suspicions raised by the media. — VNS