Hanoi authorities have set a 2017 moving date for 26,000 Old Quarter residents who will be relocated to a new residential area in Long Bien District which lies just across the Red River.
The relocation of 1,500 households from the historic neighborhood, described by some as “among Asia's best-preserved urban hubs of traditional commerce,” represent about 40% of its total residents. City authorities have said that the move aims to reduce the neighborhood’s population density which is nearly 8 times that of New York City’s.
In order to bring the density down to 500 people per square hectare from the current 823, last December the city approved plans to build 16 eight to nine story apartment buildings in the Viet Hung Urban Area at a price of VND5 trillion ($US230.9 million). The facilities will include kindergartens, primary schools, health clinics and other public works, according to The Hanoi Times.
Some residents, such as newspaper seller, Hoang Thi Tao, are cautiously optimistic about the resettlement plan.
"The project will help to make the Old Quarter prettier, improve its residents' living standards and lure more foreign tourists," Tao told the Associated Press in February.
"But it'll also require a lot of resources and determination on the government's part. They'll need to give big compensation offers to persuade those people to leave,"he added.
While it’s unclear what the compensation will be as figures will likely differ for each case, Thanh Nien reports that the first 30m2 of their apartments will be provided free of charge, meaning that residents will either have to purchase or rent the remaining area of their home.
Additionally, around 39% of said households will be provided with kiosks to continue their businesses. However, residents told Lao Dong that they were skeptical about their ability to replicate the commercial success they currently enjoy.
“I can only do business here [the Old Quarter],” Nguyen Van Hung, a business owner who is among those who will be relocated told the paper.
[Top photo via Chris Goldberg on Flickr]
