Hanoi's Construction Department has awarded 10 investors with renovation and reconstruction projects of old apartment buildings from now until 2030.

An old apartment building in Ngoc Khanh Ward of Ba Dinh District, Hanoi. Photo: The Hanoi Times

Renovating and rebuilding old apartment buildings has become urgent for the Hanoi authorities as many blocks have fallen into disrepair and are at risk of collapse.

The move is expected to speed up the process as renovating old apartment buildings remains a thorny issue that costs Hanoi time and efforts. After nearly two decades, the city completed the assessment of 126 old apartment buildings out of 1,600 units in need of renovation and reconstruction, fulfilling only 1% of the total work. 

In its plan for 2021-2030, Hanoi targets to rebuild and renovate 10 old apartment blocks, including four buildings in danger of collapse under the administration of Giang Vo, Thanh Cong and Ngoc Khanh wards in central districts of Ba Dinh and Dong Da.

In 2022, the city completed the reconstruction and renovation of two apartment buildings and put them into operation, while seven other projects are underway.

In the same year, the local building department also approved old apartment building assessment plans for 13/15 districts in the city.

To boost the process, the municipal authorities will urge the remaining districts to soon submit their assessment plans for old apartment buildings.

In June 2022, the Hanoi Department of Construction issued the standards for the assessment of old apartment buildings, which regulates the process for assessing the quality of old condominiums.

In October 2022, the Hanoi People's Council made an advance allocation of VND128 billion (US$5.3 million) for district authorities to assess old apartment buildings under their jurisdiction. In total, about VND500 billion ($21.3 million) will be allocated in 2021-2025 for this purpose.