Chairman of Hanoi’s municipal People’s Committee Nguyen The Thao, confirmed on Nov. 19, that people living in Hanoi ’s Old Quarter will be relocated to Long Bien and Gia Lam districts.

The move is to improve their living standard, especially their accommodation, Chairman Thao talked with the local media on the sidelines of the 6 th session of the 12th National Assembly about the capital city’s plans. He said that the Viet Hung and Sai Dong urban areas which lie across the Red River will be their new homes.

The city will also provide vocational training for the relocated residents and build a commercial centre inside the Viet Hung urban area to make it easier for those who want to pursue business.

Hanoi ’s Old Quarter is situated in Hoan Kiem district on an area of around 100 hectares, roughly about 1.5-2 sq. metres per capita.

The Old Quarter now boasts 4,000 houses. Nearly 1,000 of them were built over 100 years ago. Most of the houses are dilapidated or have been repaired unprofessionally so the original architecture has disappeared and some have even turned into slums.

Given this, the local authorities have proposed to relocate 30,000 people outside of the area by 2020 to reduce the population density to 50,000 people per sq. km from the current 84,000 people per sq. km.

The first phase of the project, which will cost around 4,000 billion VND, was submitted to the city’s Planning and Investment Department and will be later submitted to the municipal People’s Committee for approval.

This phase will see around 1,900 households living in the Old Quarter resettled in the Viet Hung urban area./.