Monday, December 27, 2010

Hanoi unveils plan to beautify the city

Hanoi will spend VND3.3 trillion (US$ 165 billion) in the next five years in an effort to improve its infrastructure and beautify the city, according to a new plan released by city authorities.

Under a draft plan proposed by the city's Department of Construction, a total of 174 projects will be carried out from 2011-2015 that are expected to bring about a dramatic change to the face of the capital.

Nguyen The Hung, deputy director of the Department of Construction said most of the planned projects would involve improving water drainage and lighting systems, upgrading road surfaces and burying electricity and telecommunications cables.

The work will start in the city centre and move to the outskirts.

The city would also invest money to upgrade squares, parks and flower-gardens, he said.

According to the plan, which was unveiled last week, the first phase will start next year involving 40 projects costing approximately VND 602 billion ($30.1 billion). Each district and town in the city will have at least one project.

More than 100 projects will be carried out as part of the next phase from 2012-2015, expected to cost more than VND2 trillion ($100 billion)

In 2010, the city carried out 69 renovation projects on the occasion of its 1,000th anniversary. However, the implementation of so many projects in such a short period of time was criticised by many Hanoians, for turning the city into a giant construction site for the first 10 months of the year before the grand ceremony started in October.

Reports from the Department of Construction also showed that a remarkable number of projects were not finished on time, and those that were, did not meet sufficient standards. This was largely due to contractor failings and the complexity of the work.

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