HÀ NỘI — Chairman of the People’s Committee of Hà Nội Nguyễn Đức Chung ordered districts to suspend all upcoming projects to resurface sidewalks throughout the city.

The latest move came on December 7 after residents recently questioned the quality of materials being used to pave sidewalks.

Residents in streets of Thanh Xuân District’s Nguyễn Trãi, Lê Trọng Tấn and Hà Đông District’s Trần Phú complained a range of the sidewalks that were resurfaced with natural stone at the end of 2016, had developed a lot of cracks. At that time, authorities claimed natural stone would be durable for 50-70 years.

Chung said all upcoming projects were ordered to be halted until authorities clarified issues related to recent public concerns, the online newspaper Giao thông reported.

According to Chung, the poor management by the capital’s Department of Construction was partly responsible for pavements deteriorating in one year, he said.

He told districts’ administrations to investigate and strictly deal with any violations according to regulations.

He also said, under the city’s plan, pavements would be resurfaced if they had deteriorated. Pavements in inner districts, especially areas that attracted a lot of tourists and nearby historical sites, were prioritised for resurfacing. Others would be taken under careful consideration before resurfacing.

However, authorised agencies in the city’s districts had failed to follow the plan. Some districts even resurfaced pavements without determining whether they had deteriorated.

Therefore, upcoming projects to pave sidewalks in the city must be carefully re-checked to ensure the city’s plan was being followed, he said.

The construction department was assigned to supervise and send a comprehensive report to the city before December 15. — VNS