Hanoi chairman admits to failure on curbing unplanned real estate development Hanoi chairman Nguyen Duc Chung has admitted his responsibility for the city’s congestion problems due to the granting of too many licences to large scale real estate developments in the city centre. Chairman of the Hanoi People's Committee, Nguyen Duc Chung, speaks at a NA meeting on August 16. At a NA meeting on Wednesday, Chung was asked to explain about the alleged violations by investors in many urban areas and apartment buildings which are blamed for the rising congestion in the city. The city chairman admitted that there were violations, mainly in the density and height of the projects. "We take responsibility for letting these violations occur," Chung told NA deputies. "This was due to our lack of supervision. "We're co-operating with the Ministry of Construction, the Government Inspectorate and the inspection team at the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment to better supervise the construction activities in the area." Chung revealed that the city has punished 18 officials including chairmen and deputy chairmen at some districts and communes as well as chiefs and deputy chiefs of several inspection teams relating to violations at construction projects in Hanoi since 2016. NA deputies at the meeting also gave questions to Minister of Construction, Pham Hong Ha, about the ministry's responsibilities in the rising congestion caused by the licensing of too many new urban areas and apartment buildings in Hanoi and HCM City.    Traffic congestion on Trung Kinh Street in Hanoi. Deputy Luu Binh Nhuong from Ben Tre Province quoted a statistic as saying that traffic congestion are leading to a loss of 3% annual GDP and asked the construction minister to explain the situation. Minister Pham Hong Ha said that there would be no congestion if the urban areas were built following the design plans approved by the ministry. "Our inspections have shown that most of the apartment buildings in Hanoi failed to follow their approved design plans," Ha noted. "And many urban areas are built without caring about the development of transport infrastructure. And the authorities in Hanoi and HCM City should be responsible for these violations." The minister stressed the need to tighten the approval of the plans and designs for each and every building, and strictly supervise investors to make sure that they follow the design plans. Speaking at the meeting, deputy Nguyen Thanh Hong from Nghe An Province shared that he was not happy with the answer from the construction minister as to whether the "lack of supervision" or "interest groups" have led to many streets in Hanoi being flooded with apartment buildings.  Hong also pointed to the recent mess resulted from rampant construction at Linh Dam Urban Area which used to be considered a good model for the development of urban areas in the city. dtinews.vn