The breaking ground of road No 11 on July 20 was the first step of a major and long-awaited project to build Hanoi National University .

Attending the event, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan.

Nhan requested that the Ministry of Construction and contractors closely supervise progress to make sure the university does not cut corners on the nation's biggest training centre.

Nhan stressed that the project, with its "special significance," should not be approached sluggishly or with low quality work by any means.

The university, based in Hoa Lac Area in suburban Hanoi , spans 1,000ha and is slated for completion by 2020, when it will serve 10,000 students and 60,000 by 2030.

The university is set to become a modern complex. A management building and libraries will be centrally located, with faculties, schools, research centres, dormitories and supporting units surrounding them.

It is expected to reduce the overload that universities in inner districts currently face.

Nhan also suggested the construction ministry to deliver a progress report to the Prime Minister every three months.

In 2003, the Government assigned Hanoi National University to map out its own project, requesting the first phase be finished by 2009.

However, the project's design did not satisfy the demand to build an advanced university complex.

It was then handed over to the Ministry of Construction at the end of 2008./.