Hanoi mulls mass eviction plan

Hanoi's bustling old city is popular with visiting tourists

By East Asia Reporter Clare Arthurs

The authorities in Vietnam are considering a plan to move thousands of people from their homes in an effort to reduce overcrowding in the centre of the capital, Hanoi.

The crowding is worst in the historic Old City where density reaches 1,000 people per square kilometre.

The area is a busy commercial district filled with the honk of motorbikes and the bustle of traders and families who live much of their lives on the street fronts.

The hum of activity in the area, with its restaurants and markets, also make it popular with tourists.

Five years ago the city authorities banned residents from adding more storeys to their properties to preserve the old streetscapes.

New suburb

Now they want to do more to address the problems of overcrowding, pollution and chronic congestion by floating a plan to move 11,000 people out of the capital's centre to a new suburb on the outskirts of Hanoi.

Residents with legal title to central city properties will be offered compensation while others face forced removal.

But residents and historians have raised objections which go beyond the question of financial compensation.

They are worried worry about the emotional dislocation which could be suffered by people who have strong ties to the area, in some cases going back generations.

Perhaps the most difficult question of all is how the authorities will select people for relocation.

Local historians have been warning that this could be a divisive move and have been pressing the city authorities to release more detailed plans.