Secretary of HCM City’s Party Committee visits Thủ Thiêm residents

HCM CITY — Secretary of HCM City Party Committee Nguyễn Thiện Nhân yesterday spoke with families who have been affected by the Thủ Thiêm new urban area project in HCM City’s District 2, some of whom have refused to move and others who have already resettled in Bình Khánh Ward.

The households who refused to move are living at temporary shelters set up by District 2 authorities in An Phú Ward.

Nhân visited the families to talk to them about why they still refuse to move, and to discover the state of their current living and working conditions.

Residents in the area are still waiting for the conclusion of the Government Inspectorate about the legal status of the project, including the project’s boundary and compensation and resettlement decisions.

But the conclusion, expected on July 15, has yet to be announced.

Nhân said the city had set up a special task force to determine the legal status of the project.

The city People’s Committee will respond to residents in writing about the conclusion within a month after the findings of the Government Inspectorate and the direction of the Prime Minister are finalised.

The task force will review, examine and propose solutions for residents within 45 days after the conclusion of the Government Inspectorate.

Regarding compensation and resettlement issues, the task force will review each case and suggest solutions within 60 days after the Government Inspectorate issues its findings. 

Nhân said: “If the land (of a resident) is lying outside the project’s boundary, it will not be taken for the project.”

At a meeting with 40 representatives of the affected residents, Nhân last month promised to find a satisfactory solution.

On May 15, Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc ordered HCM City authorities and agencies to quickly settle the land disputes involving the Thủ Thiêm new urban area.

Covering a total area of 657ha, the Thủ Thiêm new urban area is located on Thủ Thiêm peninsula in HCM City’s District 2, which faces downtown District 1 across the Sài Gòn River.

Approved by the Government in 1996, the proposed financial district and mixed-use urban area of HCM City is set to become the largest inner-city development in Southeast Asia.

To develop such a project, it has taken more than 10 years to complete site clearance of most of Thủ Thiêm peninsula, with nearly 15,000 households already resettled. 

More than 99 per cent of land in the proposed area has been cleared. — VNS