More than 500 households who lived on house boats around central Hue City have stepped ashore to live on dry land as part of a Government-backed resettlement project.
Nguyen Cu from Lai Tan village said that moving ashore had been a dream of many generations of fishing villagers for years: “It is difficult for villagers to make ends meet, not to mention the prospect of house ownership,” he said.
The Thua Thien-Hue provincial authorities had previously tried to entice villagers to move ashore two times, but had failed both times due to lack of research and long-term planning, according to Nguyen Van Cuong from the provincial People’s Council.
He said, people had returned to their ships because they lacked work opportunities after resettling.
But this time a comprehensive resettlement programme, covering poverty reduction, vocational training and job creation, had been planned to move all fishing villagers ashore.
Ho Xuan Man, provincial Party Committee Secretary, said the lesson from earlier resettlement was that resettlement zones must be located close to rivers so residents could continue earning a living as they traditionally had from fishing.
Since the programme started in 2008, 555 households have moved into three resettlement zones. Under the programme, villagers are provided with a choice between 15 million VND (780 USD) toward the construction of house on free land provided by the government or the purchase of an apartment valued at 150 million VND (7,800 USD).
A concessional payment scheme allows villagers o repay their debts for apartment over 10 years.
But for big families, coming ashore is still a hard move to make as allocated spaces cannot always accommodate ever family members.
Nguyen Van Sim from Lai Tan village, for example, shares a resettlement area with 26 family members. But even after gaining permission to buy another land lot, the total living space was sill too small for Sim’s family: three couples and their children.
The resettlement rules specify that households with 12 people or less will be provided with 81sq.m of land, and those with 13 people or more with 118sq.m. Families deemed to be unusually large are permitted to buy an extra land lot at a subsidised price.
Hue City ’s Construction Works Management Board has proposed to allow households with between 10 to 14 members to buy extra land or an apartment at a discount price to deal with overcrowding, said Nguyen Dinh Cang, director of the board.
All 1,090 fishing households in Hue City are expected to move ashore by October this year./.
Nguyen Cu from Lai Tan village said that moving ashore had been a dream of many generations of fishing villagers for years: “It is difficult for villagers to make ends meet, not to mention the prospect of house ownership,” he said.
The Thua Thien-Hue provincial authorities had previously tried to entice villagers to move ashore two times, but had failed both times due to lack of research and long-term planning, according to Nguyen Van Cuong from the provincial People’s Council.
He said, people had returned to their ships because they lacked work opportunities after resettling.
But this time a comprehensive resettlement programme, covering poverty reduction, vocational training and job creation, had been planned to move all fishing villagers ashore.
Ho Xuan Man, provincial Party Committee Secretary, said the lesson from earlier resettlement was that resettlement zones must be located close to rivers so residents could continue earning a living as they traditionally had from fishing.
Since the programme started in 2008, 555 households have moved into three resettlement zones. Under the programme, villagers are provided with a choice between 15 million VND (780 USD) toward the construction of house on free land provided by the government or the purchase of an apartment valued at 150 million VND (7,800 USD).
A concessional payment scheme allows villagers o repay their debts for apartment over 10 years.
But for big families, coming ashore is still a hard move to make as allocated spaces cannot always accommodate ever family members.
Nguyen Van Sim from Lai Tan village, for example, shares a resettlement area with 26 family members. But even after gaining permission to buy another land lot, the total living space was sill too small for Sim’s family: three couples and their children.
The resettlement rules specify that households with 12 people or less will be provided with 81sq.m of land, and those with 13 people or more with 118sq.m. Families deemed to be unusually large are permitted to buy an extra land lot at a subsidised price.
Hue City ’s Construction Works Management Board has proposed to allow households with between 10 to 14 members to buy extra land or an apartment at a discount price to deal with overcrowding, said Nguyen Dinh Cang, director of the board.
All 1,090 fishing households in Hue City are expected to move ashore by October this year./.
