HANOI, (PNA/VNS) — Tens of thousands of square meters of land which are lying unused or are being improperly used around the city will be reserved for the construction of state-owned schools, according to Hanoi’s Department of Natural Resources and the Environment (DNRE).
Subsequently, 10 out of the 29 districts have sent in their proposals concerning additional funding for the construction of public schools, and many plots of land in favorable places will be withdrawn.
Hoan Kiem District proposed building seven nursery schools and primary schools on sites like the 1,000 square meters available at 88 Hang Buom Street, 110 square meters at 49 Phan Boi Chau Street and the 275 square meters at 4 Tong Duy Tan Street.
The Tay Ho District People’s Committee plans to withdraw 10 plots of land, some of which are up to 2,000-3,000 square meters and have been left unused for years.
The district also proposed enlarging Chu Van An Kindergarten in Thuy Khue Street.
Hai Ba Trung District has proposed revoking its largest piece of land.
All the plots of land being proposed for withdrawal in Hai Ba Trung District belong to State-owned enterprises, whose initial plans were to build apartment buildings, according to Nguyen Ton Luong, Chairman of the Hai Ba Trung District People’s Council.
“Due to the downturn in the housing market, these plans have not yet been implemented”, said Luong about the district’s proposal to withdraw unused land for the building of schools.
While districts within the city have specified the locations and land which need to be withdrawn, suburban districts have only proposed the total amount of schools being planned or expanded and the total amount of land they need for the construction.
Under the proposals sent to the city’s DNRE, the districts of Thanh Oai, Ba Vi, and Me Linh need approximately 7, 86, and 2 hectares for the construction respectively, while Dan Phuong is planning to build and expand 29 schools by 2020.
In addition to the land proposed being taken back by the districts, Hanoi’s DNRE has also withdrawn 827 hecatares of land from 35 projects around the city, because of violations of the Law on the Land, according to the department’s Vice Director Nguyen Huu Nghia.
“Out of these areas, three have been handed over to the district authorities to build schools”, Nghia said, adding that the department had released 32 to other administrations and asked them to develop plans for their future use.
In order to reduce the overcrowding in public schools, the department has asked those districts who received land to carry out the tendering for the schools’ construction as soon as possible.
Those who are in charge of this land with a large population, were also asked to propose their plans to the department as soon as possible. If the revoked land is suitable for building schools, the local authorities should contact the city’s Planning and Investment Department to get approval for the construction.
According to a report from the Ministry of Education and Training, by the end of last year, the city needs roughly seven million square meters of land to build schools.