Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai has urged the ministries of Transport and Public Security to increase inspections and the punishment of those who continue to use banned vehicles.

Under Government resolution No 32/2007/NQ-CP, all homemade vehicles, including dilapidated trucks and unregistered and self-modified three and four-wheel motor vehicles, were banned from the streets as of June 2008.

The regulation is aimed at reducing traffic jams and accidents.

Deputy director of the Hanoi Transport Department Nguyen Xuan Tan admitted that many vehicles subject to the ban are still found on the city's streets.

"Violators will be fined or have their vehicles confiscated," he said.

To support these owners, the Government has decided to provide them with financial aid to change their vehicles by the end of this year.

Assistance packages will start at 5 million VND (263 USD) and those who choose to replace their vehicles will receive 9 million VND (473 USD) towards the purchase of a new one.

Special financial assistance will also be provided to owners of banned vehicles who are beneficiaries of social welfare. Disabled people will be eligible to assistance of 20 million VND (1,052 USD) and the poor and ethnic minorities will be eligible to 15 million VND (789 USD).

Authorities in many cities and provinces will also provide poor owners with preferential loans, vocational training and jobs to create favourable conditions for them to change the illegal vehicles which they use as their primary source of work.

Hai entrusted the Ministry of Finance to work with relevant ministries and agencies to review the implementation of the support policies and report to the Prime Minister before the end of the year.

There are estimated 2,000 self-modified three-wheel vehicles in Hanoi while the figure is predicted to be over 22,000 in HCM City - the most in the country. /.