Ha Noi fails to halt building of skinny houses

HA NOI — Extremely slim houses have continued to be erected in some areas of the capital despite the determination of Ha Noi authorities to eliminate them from the face of the city.

A supervising delegation from the Ha Noi People's Council, led by Chairwoman Ngo Thi Doan Thanh, held a meeting on Tuesday with the Department of Construction about new houses that have sprung up in the proximity of construction projects in Hai Ba Trung District, especially in the area around Vinh Tuy Bridge.

Vice chairman of Hai Ba Trung People's Committee Lam Anh Tuan said that 13 super-slim houses had been built near the bridge without the proper permissions. Eight of the houses were constructed on a 10sq.m area, and one three-storey house in particular was built on a mere 3.8sq.m. Authorities did not want houses to be constructed on an area smaller than 15sq.m.

Some households lost part of their land in the site clearance for the bridge, said Tuan. The authority was in the process of making a decision about which plots would be ineligible for house construction, but these households had already started construction.

"We will never improve the face of Ha Noi if the city is not determined in its urban management," said Tran Trong Hanh, former rector of the Ha Noi Architecture University.

The district authority was reviewing individual cases and would find a solution for each, said Tuan. Houses that failed to merge with others would be confiscated for the public good.

Statistics from the construction department showed that the capital was home to 52 super-slim and oddly-shaped houses in 2008. New construction projects and a weak management system have pushed the number up to 80.

A representative from the department said that management authorities at the district level were to blame for their loose management. Although the Prime Minister has approved stronger supervision by establishing construction inspection teams at local levels, these houses have continued to be constructed.

Party secretary of Thanh Xuan District Nguyen Thi Ngoc Minh, on the other hand, said that inspectors from the departmentwith proper training should take an active role in helping localities manage cases that district staff were unable to solve.

While functional offices were busy discussing responsibility, a lot more work needed to be done to organise the capital's urban management for its upcoming 1,000th anniversary. — VNS