The floating village near the banks of Hồng (Red) River, Hà Nội. —VNA/VNS Photo Trung Nguyên

HÀ NỘI — Many households living in a floating village near the banks of the Red River in Hà Nội have feared for their future after hearing that the city plans to approve the Red River sub-division planning project this June.

The Red River urban planning project aims to develop an area of about 11,000ha in 13 districts of Đan Phượng, Bắc Từ Liêm, Tây Hồ, Ba Đình, Hoàn Kiếm, Hai Bà Trưng, Hoàng Mai, Thanh Trì, Thường Tín, Mê Linh, Đông Anh, Long Biên and Gia Lâm.

Under the project, there will be dozens of bridges built across the Red River, many parks and cultural, tourist, service and entertainment works, as well as modern ecological urban areas will be built on both sides of the river.

The project is to be implemented on a 40km-long section of the Red River from Hồng Hà Bridge to Mễ Sở Bridge.

According to the project, areas along the river will be developed into new urban areas or open spaces such as squares and parks. Therefore, 35 households in the floating village might be relocated.

Nguyễn Văn Được, 75, head of the floating village said the village was home to nearly 100 people from 35 households.

They came from different localities and temporarily lived in the floating village to earn a living, he said.

Được said when he heard about the project, he felt very worried about his future. He did not know how he would earn a living or where he and his life would live.

Currently, he and his wife’s income mainly depended on their guava garden and from raising some poultry and animals on the land on the river banks, he said.

Phạm Thị Thu, another resident of the village, said she thought the planning project would pay attention to the residents of the floating village.

“Most of us are old. We just want cleaner accommodation,” she said.

Nguyễn Văn Thành, 85, has spent most of his life on the banks of the river and said he and his wife lived in makeshift shelters for many years. They earned their living by collecting scrap.

He said he and his wife did not know where to go if they were forced to relocate. He hoped the Government would help his family have stable accommodation.

The land on both banks of the river has been used as a means of livelihood and accommodation of the residents in the floating village. They live in makeshift shelters, lacking both electricity and water.

Trần Ngọc Chính, president of the Việt Nam Urban Development and Planning Association, said the project would not only rearrange the area on the two banks of the river but also point out which households would be relocated.

The information relating to which households would be relocated should be published soon so people could know clearly, he said.

A representative of the People's Committee of Ngọc Thụy Ward, Long Biên District, where the floating village is located, said after the detailed planning of the area was revealed, the committee would make its own plan to support the village residents, he said. — VNS