PM asks to clarify responsibility for violations of Hanoi building

The Prime Minister has instructed the Hanoi People’s Committee to continue steering a probe into organisations and individuals involved in the construction of the 8B Le Truc Street building, which reportedly houses more floors than permitted.

The PM’s directive was announced by Nguyen Van Nen, Minister and Chairman of the Government Office, at the Government’s monthly press briefing in Hanoi on October 29. Any violations should be strictly punished, Nen said.

According to Nen, on October 26, the Cabinet’s standing members met with the Hanoi People’s Committee, representatives from the Ministry of Construction, and other relevant ministries and agencies to discuss the issue.

The PM, who chaired the meeting, blamed the late detection and treatment on weaknesses in State management and requested that solutions to the problem be found as soon as possible.

After studying investment licence procedures and the opinions of competent agencies, the leader said the municipal People’s Committee and the Construction Ministry were correct in the licence-granting process.

However, the investor deliberately committed serious violations and should be strictly punished, Nen quoted the leader as saying.

The PM also requested the investor immediately suspend construction and devise a plan to repair its mistakes.

The municipal People’s Committee was tasked with ratifying the plan and closely supervising its implementation. It needed to abide by the licence, and ensure architectural safety and security.

The full text of the PM’s conclusion would be posted on the e - government portal, Nen said.

The building under construction overlooks the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum in central Hanoi. It was reportedly built more floors than permitted.

Hanoi authorities said that the building, which will contain a mall, offices and apartments, built an extra five floors more than its original blueprint showed. The blueprint had been given a construction permit by the city and the Government Office in 2013. The building was only allowed to be 53 metres tall – about 16 metres less than the actual height of the building so far.

The investor of the building, the Le Truc Garment Co. JSC., was also said to have illegally increased the total number of square footage by at least 6,000 sq metres to about 36,000 sq metres.

Those violations had been repeatedly detected by inspectors during the course of construction, but strict punishments were not given, the city authorities said.-VNA