Hanoi has agreed to construct 16 apartment buildings in the Viet Hung Urban Area to resettle 26,200 residents of Hoan Kiem district's Old Quarter.

The decision, signed by deputy chairman of the Hanoi People's Committee Nguyen Ngoc Tuan on December 22, details how the buildings will reach eight or nine storeys in height and include public facilities, such as kindergartens, primary schools, health clinics and other public works.

Additionally, the municipal People's Committee will choose investors for the construction, while Hoan Kiem district People's Committee is responsible for supervising the construction work and resettling the people who will receive the apartments.

It also said that people, who are included in the resettlement, could buy or rent apartments in the building for resettlement in Viet Hung Urban Area.

Meanwhile, the investor will only be allowed to sell the apartments at a maximum profit of 10 percent of their investment, adding that investors can sell 15 percent of the flats at market prices.

The decision also said that people in the resettlement projects are to be given priority to buy and rent the flats. However, one year after completion, if there are unoccupied flats, the investors will be eligible to sell the apartments to other buyers in the district.

The resettlement aims to ease the high population density in the Old Quarter, address the degraded living conditions of local people and preserve heritage sites.

The current population density of the Old Quarter stands at 823 people per hectare, well in excess of the 2020 target of 500 people per hectare.

According to the Hanoi People's Committee, the Old Quarter spans 10 wards of Hoan Kiem district, covering a total of 81 hectares.-VNA