It is estimated that more than 1.7 million people join inner city traffic daily. Traffic jams are blamed for total expenses reaching 21,600 billion dong a year. Meanwhile, an estimated 120,000-130,000 people will migrate to Hanoi in 2010.

Quite a lot of “big numbers’ were revealed in the report assessing the possible impact of the Capital Bill, which has been officially submitted by the Government to the National Assembly’s Standing Committee.

Migration control is one of its most important aspects. The report shows that the number of migrants to Hanoi has been increasing sharply. Of the city’s districts, Tu Liem has the highest migrant population at 371,247. The number is 1.9 times higher than that of ten years ago.

The land fund in the inner city is very limited, with the average area per capita at 20.8 square metres per head. Hanoi’s average population density in 2009 was 1926 people per square kilometer, while the figures were 691 people in Da Nang and 3399 people per square kilometer in HCM City.

However, the population breakdown varies widely across districts. Dong Da is considered the district with the highest population density (36,550 people per square kilometer), while Ba Vi district with many mountainous communes has the lowest population density (576 people per square kilometer). However, the population density in Ba Vi is still double the average population density of the whole country (259 people per kilometer).

In an effort to ease migration pressures and to ensure good conditions for people to live and work legally in the capital city, the bill stipulates that the Government will have the right to set regulations on residing in the inner city after considering the scale, population density and structure and ensuring that the regulations fit the capital city development program.

Migration control is considered one of the most “sensitive” issues and believed to have considerable impact on businesses and people, raising controversy within society. Thus, the report’s team gave detailed information and ideas.

Three solutions to urban migration have been put forward. With the first solution, there will not be specific regulations to control the number of migrants to the inner city, besides regulations already stipulated in the Residence Law. This means that if a person, who has legal accommodations in the city and has been residing provisionally in the city for one year and longer, they can become a permanent resident.

According to the compilation team, this solution will not bring any benefits, while it will make Government spending increase, reduce the city’s budget and force people to bear more expenses.

The second solution suggests that a person who wants to become a permanent resident must have resided provisionally in the capital city for five years or more. People must show the authorities that they have stable and legal jobs with incomes at least double the average minimum salaries.

If the second solution is selected, some argue it will also not bring benefit to the Government and the people, while expenses will again rise.

In the third solution, administrative measures will not be applied, while a package of measures will be introduced to encourage people to move to the suburban areas and not the inner city.

For example, the Government may set regulations that new office and apartment projects must be located in the suburbs. It may also give direct support to those people who have demand to use and make investment to develop transport infrastructure in suburban areas. The Government may also offer preferences to encourage investors to build high quality hospitals in the suburbs and gradually remove administrative agencies from the inner city or build a new administration area in the suburbs.

If the last solution is chosen, the Government must spend more, but people will have more opportunities for reasonably-priced accommodations.

The report also shows statistics released in 2004 that revealed up to 80 percent of migrants think their income has increased since their move to Hanoi. These results explain the strong driving force behind the migration wave.

“Creating the best conditions for migrants to have good lives in Hanoi is the responsibility of Hanoi,” the report emphasized.

The report team thinks that the best solution for migration control is a combination of the second and third solutions. The Government and the capital city’s authorities must spend more money, but the money will bring long-term benefits that outweigh the short-term expenses.

Source: Dau tu