In a conversation with writer and researcher Nguyen Ngoc Tien about the historical sites surrounding Hoan Kiem Lake, he revealed to Lao Dong reporter that there is a secret basement located in the premises of the Northern Power Corporation on Tran Nguyen Han Street.
The tunnel was built with the building of the Northern Power Corporation about 100 years ago.
As the US escalated shelling of the North, the tunnel was used to avoid B52 bombs.
According to historical records, in 1966, the US attacked Hanoi, dropping key bombs on hospitals, power plants, gas stations, etc. This attack lasted until 1968
During this severe period, the basement in the building of the Northern Power Corporation was used for electricity workers and people living around the bomb shelters.
After 1968, Vietnam and the US held talks on the negotiating table towards the Paris Agreement, and the US temporarily stopped bombing.
Until April 1972, the US continued to bomb Hanoi until the end of December 1972.
Researcher Nguyen Ngoc Tien said that during the fierce period of the US's prolonged bombing campaign in Hanoi, the secret tunnel in the building of the Northern Power Corporation has promoted its historical role. From 1966 to 1972, the US heavily bombed power plant areas.
In 2019, the Northern Power Corporation renovated and renovated the headquarters, and discovered this tunnel while workers were constructing.
On the most popular search engines, up to now, no images of the tunnel have been revealed.
Only a few very short lines of news have brought to a bomb shelter built during the anti-US period located in the Hanoi Electricity Corporation building at 69 Dinh Tien Hoang.
But, when we learned, the tunnel was actually built by the French more than 100 years ago and was located in the building of the Northern Power Corporation, on Tran Nguyen Han Street.
Researcher Nguyen Ngoc Tien said: "The relocation of 11 headquarters and units when re-planning the space east of Hoan Kiem Lake is inevitable, in line with the urban development process.
However, with the tunnel with historical traces, recording the unforgettable years in Hanoi during the anti-American period, I think we should keep it."
According to researcher Nguyen Ngoc Tien, this tunnel can be included in tourism exploitation plans in the capital, especially in the context of the cultural industry and cultural tourism being promoted by the state in recent years.
In October 1969, Power Company - the predecessor of the Northern Power Corporation today, was established under Decision No. 106/QD-TC of the Minister of Power and Coal of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. In 1981, the Northern Power Company was transferred from the Ministry of Power and Coal to the Ministry of Power and changed its name to Power Company 1.
In February 2010, the Northern Power Corporation was established under Decision No. 0789/QD-BTC of the Ministry of Industry and Trade on the basis of reorganizing Power Company 1 and re-receiving Hai Phong, Hai Duong and Ninh Binh Power Companies and renaming them Northern Power Corporation (NPC), under the Vietnam - EVN Power Group.
