On the afternoon of June 12, in a group discussion at the fourth session of the 17th Hanoi City People's Council, term 2026-2031, Mr. Luu Quang Huy - Director of the Hanoi Institute of Construction Planning, said that renovating old apartment buildings is still one of the most difficult problems of the city.
According to Mr. Huy, for many years, the progress of renovation and reconstruction of old apartment buildings has been very slow. One of the important reasons is that the projects are not attractive enough to attract investors to participate.
Most of the old apartment buildings are located in the historical inner city area, which is tightly controlled in terms of planning targets. When implementing renovation, businesses face difficulties in ensuring investment efficiency, so they are not enthusiastic about participating in the project.
Mr. Huy said that there is a proposal to increase the population size to create more commercial housing funds, thereby increasing revenue and profits for businesses. However, this is an issue that needs to be carefully considered because the inner city area is currently under great population pressure.
The standard population is about 12,000 people/km2. Meanwhile, Dong Da district currently has about 40,000 people/km2, while Hai Ba Trung district has nearly 30,000 people/km2," Mr. Huy said.
According to the Director of the Hanoi Institute of Construction Planning, if population growth continues in these areas, it will put great pressure on social infrastructure such as schools, green trees, transportation, parking lots and public services.
He believes that the renovation of old apartment buildings needs to be placed in the overall problem of urban development. Besides creating mechanisms for businesses to invest effectively, the city must ensure the goal of reducing construction density, increasing green space and improving the quality of life of people.
Speaking at the group discussion to clarify the opinions of delegates, Chairman of Hanoi People's Committee Vu Dai Thang said that policies related to urban reconstruction, renovation, and reconstruction of old apartment buildings and mechanisms to support the development of social housing and social housing for rent under the new direction of the Central Government have all been integrated in the draft resolutions submitted at the session.
According to Mr. Vu Dai Thang, the city pays special attention to urban reconstruction and renovation and reconstruction of old apartment buildings.
Previously, we only thought about changing land use purposes, land use purposes, from garden land, rice land, to residential land. But now with regulations on reconstruction and new planning of the Capital, we have the right to organize the adjustment of residential land capital, old apartment buildings to convert into public land" - Mr. Thang informed.
Taking the example of an old apartment building with dozens of buildings in Thanh Xuan ward, the Chairman of Hanoi People's Committee said that when rebuilding the area, it is not necessary to build on the entire existing area. Instead, the majority of the area can be used to develop public works. The remaining area will be used for reconstruction, arranging on-site resettlement for people and creating conditions for businesses investing in building old apartment buildings to be profitable.
