The suspension of 16 construction projects in Ha Noi has caused controversy among authorities in the city.

The Ministry of Construction and the Ha Noi People’s Committee have yet to decide the fate of the projects, said Nguyen Tran Nam, Deputy Minister of Construction.

Nam said the city must first finalise details of its development master plan, which must be approved by the Government, before the projects can get the go ahead.

He added that the ministry had no official position on the issue.

Nam said he had contacted the chairman of Ha Noi People’s Committee, Nguyen The Thao, who said he had no comment to make at the present time.

Thao added that the projects fell under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Construction, Nam said.

Meanwhile, senior officials from the Ministry of Construction said they had asked leaders of concerned departments about the projects but that no information had been forthcoming.

Nam said the projects could not proceed until the capital had approved its development master plan.

Earlier this month, the Ha Noi Department of Planning and Architecture had posted details of the suspended 16 projects on its website.

However, Vu Tuan Dinh, deputy director of the planning and architecture department, was quoted by the popular online news website VNExpress that suspension of the projects followed a review process that had begun towards the end of 2008, in line with the Prime Minister’s instruction.

The Prime Minister has assigned the Ha Noi People’s Committee to work with the Ministry of Construction and concerned agencies to review planning and investment projects in the capital.

Dinh said Tran Ngoc Chinh, first deputy minister of construction and deputy ministers Cao Lai Quang and Nguyen Dinh Toan, along with the Ha Noi People’s Committee, had reviewed 244 projects in the capital.

The Ha Noi People’s Committee said the 16 projects would have to be put on hold until the city’s development zoning had been carried out.

Dinh said the city authorities had said that once the Ha Noi master plan had been adopted, specific zoning of the city would be conducted and the fate of the suspended projects decided.
Source: VNS