A Hanoi official has underscored the need to tighten administrative management while creating an open environment for investors in an effort to boost urban development.

Chairman of the Hanoi municipal People’s Committee Nguyen The Thao made the remarks at a conference to review the capital city’s performance in urban construction and management over the past two years.

He pointed to the stagnation during the implementation of key projects such as Belt Road No. 1 and No. 2 with problems lying in land clearance and investors’ capacity.

Planning work has revealed serious shortcomings, failing to foresee future development demands and requiring repeated corrections. The management of construction, land, environment, landscapes, and cultural heritage sites at localities is also full of flaws, he said.

In addition, investors have not shown much interest in urban technical and social infrastructure projects. At the same time, the property market remains sluggish despite high housing demands.

The city mayor also complained about the slow progress in relocating polluting industrial facilities, hospitals and universities and colleges.

A report of the municipal People’s Committee said the large number of construction and socio-development plans at communes and district levels resulted in a slow pace, while complicated and overlapped procedures, weak management and limited human resources also contributed to the problems.

From now to the end of the year, Hanoi will focus resources on planning, completing ongoing projects and preparations for other key projects with priority given to land clearance.-VNA