The Hanoi Construction Department on September 20 broke ground for high-rise dormitories which are capable of housing 7,400 students once they are completed in the next two years.

The apartment complex, built in My Dinh II urban area of Tu Liem district, consists of five 21-storey blocks with the total living area of over 95,000 s.q.m.

The project, estimated to cost 979 billion VND (roughly 54.9 million USD), will be implemented by the Vietnam Construction and Import-Export Corp. (Vinaconex) and the Hanoi Housing Development and Investment Corp. (Handico).

Aside from providing accomodation, the new complex will also offer students living there a vast, green outdoor area accompanied with sports grounds.

It is expected to help reduce the pressure of housing shortage faced by Hanoi since the number of students flooding to the city have swifly and steadily increased while the number of university dormitories remains unchanged.

Statistics showed that there are approximately 800,000 students living in the capital city while its current domitory system can meet only 15-20 percent of the students’ housing demand.

Nguyen The Thao, Chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee, said the city will focus on completing a number of housing projects for students in the new urban areas in Hoang Mai and Ha Dong districts.

Once completed, those projects will add around 750,000 new flats or 4.5 million s.q.m of living area to the city’s accommodation store, ensuring adequate housing for 60 percent of students in the city./.