Hanoi strives to solve resettlement issues   A corner of Cau Giay district in Hanoi with several on-going construction projects (Photo: VNA)                                      The Hanoi construction department is racing against time to resolve all issues related to resettlement apartment buildings in order to complete works before Tet (Lunar New Year), says Nguyen Quoc Hung, Vice Chairman of the Hanoi People's Committee.  Hung said all concerned agencies were being given fresh deadlines to finish needed works on apartments built to accommodate people evicted from several project sites.  He said the department has ordered the Hanoi Housing Management and Development One Member Co, Ltd. and Hanoi Housing Investment and Development Corporation (HANDICO) to speed up disbursement of funds to repair and improve messy works at these apartment buildings.  Hung said there are 31 dilapidated infrastructure facilities in need of improvements and 69 lifts that needed to be repaired or replaced. In addition, 37 reserve power generators, nine water pumps, 13 lighting systems, and 92 fire protection equipment were to be installed. These works have to be done in the Trung Hoa-Nhan Chinh-Nam Trung Yen, Xuan La, Dong Tau, Kim Lien, Xuan Dinh, Cau Dien and Den Lu resettlement areas.  "Due to the urgency in clearing project sites, many resettlement areas were built in haste with incomplete technical and social infrastructure. Some do not have nurseries, kindergartens and medical clinics," Hung said.  "In others, particularly those built in 2001, the developers had miscalculated the area of facilities earmarked for public use. For example, the first floor (ground), which is often used as a parking lot, has proved too small to fully accommodate the vehicles of residents."  According to the department, there are now 155 resettlement complexes in the city with a total of 13,487 apartments that are ready to use. All of them are managed by the Hanoi Housing Management and Development One Member Co, Ltd.  "The number of apartments is sufficient to accommodate people evicted from infrastructure project areas. For the vacant apartments, district authorities will organise draws in which relocated people have the change to get an apartment of their own."  Hung also pointed out other problems concerning the management of resettlement apartment buildings. One of which was the absence of regulations specifically targeting their management, and another involved difficulties in collection of maintenance fees from residents.  It is a common practice that residents of each apartment building vote for an administration board that will convey complaints to the developer and collect fees.  However, "so far, just 14 administration boards have been formed although 155 buildings were put into use before 2014," Hung said.  He said the department was working with the Department of Finance on more efficient ways to manage the buildings.  "The construction department's agencies have been ordered to review all the problems and sort them for prioritised resolution. The immediate priority is to undertake urgent repairs and improvements." Hung said.-VNA