Nearly a year living in worry because of cracked apartment buildings
From July 2025 to now, most of the approximately 400 households at PVC-IC Diamond apartment building (also known as Lapen Center apartment building, Tam Thang ward, Ho Chi Minh City) have been living in a state of anxiety due to the risk of unsafety, as this apartment building has continuously experienced cracks and collapses of surrounding walls in many places, concentrated most on the 16th floor.
Residents at the apartment building said that the cracking of the fence wall has occurred since July 2025, the most serious is at apartments on the 16th floor, the focus is apartment 16.08. However, the cracks and old damage locations in 2025 have not been completely repaired, and in 2026, many new cracks and breaks appear. This makes residents living here both upset and worried.
Mr. Nguyen Ha Thanh (apartment 16.08) said that although nearly 1 year has passed, the cracks in the walls of the apartment have not been resolved. Hopefully, the cracks and breaks will be resolved soon so that people can feel secure in living.
And Mr. Nguyen Ha Thanh (apartment 16.04) said that the cracks in the apartment building have caused his family to live in anxiety for nearly 1 year now. " Especially my young children and many apartments are prohibited from playing in the ground area around the apartment building, because there is a high risk of unsafety if an incident occurs," Mr. Thanh said.
Request to clarify the cause and handle it thoroughly to reassure people
Through the reflection of Lao Dong Newspaper on the new crack at apartment 16.17, the Management Board of Lapen Center apartment building said that the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Construction and local authorities have both organized surveys of the current status of some new cracks to grasp the situation and develop handling plans.
Through this, the survey teams all assessed that the current status of the new crack is very dangerous, with a high risk of bursting out, especially the impact of rainy and sunny weather in the summer.
Regarding the old cracks, 276 households living in Lapen Center apartment building have agreed to sign a collective petition sent to the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Construction requesting to organize a comprehensive inspection and examination of the PVC-IC Diamond project, focusing on the following contents: construction quality, construction materials and compliance with design, standards, technical regulations...; identifying the real causes of crack and break incidents, clarifying the responsibilities of relevant parties and other contents.
Tam Thang Ward People's Committee said that the locality has issued an urgent document reporting to the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Construction about the new crack still appearing on the 16th floor of Lapen Center apartment building. At the same time, it requested the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Construction to preside over and organize a re-evaluation of the cause of the crack to ensure the safety of the project; creating peace of mind for residents living in the building.
Regarding the overcoming of the most severe crack in the fence wall at apartment 16.08, the Department of Construction has just sent a document to PetroVietnam Industrial and Civil Construction Joint Stock Company (PVC-IC) requesting to proactively review the technical design dossier for damage remediation, ensuring compliance with the remediation solution proposed in the inspection result report.
On that basis, approve according to regulations to deploy construction; and at the same time be responsible for organizing supervision and acceptance of construction and repair work; establish, manage and preserve repair records of works according to the provisions of law.
