Residents of Hanoi’s overcrowded Old Quarter are questioning a city government-backed resettlement plan, fearing an uncertain future in the mooted new area set aside for them across the Red River.

Housed in central Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi’s Old Quarter covers an area of around 100 hectares. It is known for its 36 old streets and guilds, with each street named after the traditional craft sold there.

The quarter includes about 4,000 houses, nearly 1,000 of which were built over 100 years ago.

Most of the houses are dilapidated or have been repaired in a manner which has distorted the buildings’ original structure. Some houses have even turned into slums.

According to a survey by the Hoan Kiem District’s People Committee, backers of the relocation plan, the area has one of the world’s highest population densities at 84,000 people per square kilometer. There are also cases of four to five households living on a total living area of only 100 square meters.

The committee last month submitted a draft resettlement plan in which it proposed to relocate thousands of Old Quarter families to the new urban areas of Viet Hung and Sai Dong across the Red River.

About 2,000 households are expected to be moved to the 11.12-hectare high-rise residential area of the Viet Hung urban zone in Long Bien District, during the first phase of the project.

The committee says the plan is aimed at improving the living conditions of local residents and protecting the historical landmarks of the Old Quarter from further deterioration.

Old Quarter Preservation Management Board revealed in its recent survey a large number of historical pieces are facing severe deterioration, Lao Dong (Labor) newspaper reported.

Thousands of Old Quarter residents have been living in the cramped, decrepit and often unhygienic environment while facing the constant fear of seeing their century-old houses collapse at anytime.

The plan was considered a controversial issue as it failed to win an enthusiastic response from a large number of local residents.

Up to 133 out of the quarter’s 172 relics, such as temples and historical buildings, are being occupied by 593 local households. But only 170 families agreed to take part in the resettlement plan.

“Quite (a few) people are not willing to move out of the area, saying they can cope with the current living conditions,” Nguyen Trung Thuy, chairman of the Hang Dao Ward, said. “Meanwhile, they don’t know how their lives will turn out at the new place so they are still reluctant to move.”

“I would agree if they want to restore the place and let us stay but we don’t want to move to any where else,” an old resident who is sharing a 100 square meter space with 19 other people from three families told Lao Dong. “My family has been living here for generations.”

Other households said they refused to live due to business reasons.

“We are used to living near the streets and the markets, it is really cramped here but if we move, we will lose our jobs and income,” Le Huu Thong, a resident in Dong Xuan Ward, told Tuoi Tre. “Most people here live on traditional crafts and trading in the bustling streets and markets of the Old Quarter.”

“Resettling in high-rise apartment buildings is only suitable for white-collar workers who have stable incomes,” he said. “But for most Old Quarter residents, the move means they will lose their means of living.”

Hoang Cong Khoi, chairman of the Hoan Kiem District, told Lao Dong most Old Quarter residents earned a living from trading and see little import in the restoration of the Old Quarter.

Khoi said the district would build trade venues in the resettlement areas to allow relocated families continue their businesses.

He expected work on the resettled residential area in Viet Hung would start in the fourth quarter of next year.

(Source: TuoiTre)