Hanoi will encourage investors and sub-municipal units to build parks with water detention basins to enhance urban drainage capability in case of heavy rainfall, Secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee Dinh Tien Dung Dung said.

Secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee Dinh Tien Dung. Photos: Thanh Hai

Specifically, there would be no land reclamation on water bodies for housing development or industrial park, Dung said at the 9^th congress of the 15^th Hanoi Party Committee on November 2 when discussing measures to prevent flooding in the capital.

According to Dung, recent flooding in the city is partly due to Hanoi’s rapid urbanization and rising population density.

“Unpredictable weather due to climate change is making it hard for the authorities to make a meteorological forecast,” Dung added.

However, the city’s party chief acknowledged the lack of involvement from specific agencies and units in investing in the drainage system.

Dung noted that the city has an irrigation and water drainage system planned for the 2009-2013 period, but its implementation is still behind schedule.

In addition, several rivers in the city, such as the Nhue river, have not been adequately maintained, dredged, or embanked, along with widespread land reclamation for property projects.

“These are the main reasons causing flooding in Hanoi in the past months,” he said.

To address this issue, Dung called for the local authorities to speed up the reviewing process of the irrigation planning toward Hanoi’s development, especially in rural districts heavily urbanized.

From this basis, the city would propose the revision of the irrigation and water drainage system planning for greater efficiency and consistency.

Hanoi from above. File photo

“Hanoi is expected to accelerate the construction of an urban water drainage system under the planning, along with new parks and detention basins,” he continued.

In addition, Dung called for more attention to dredging works at lakes to improve the city’s drainage capability, focusing on districts with high population density, such as Cau Giay, Ha Dong, Hoang Mai, or Thanh Xuan.

In the immediate term, Dung asked the Hanoi People's Committee to address bottlenecks in the construction of the La Khe canal, which remains a vital part of the operation of the Yen Nghia pumping station.

“There should be measures to revive the To Lich, Tich, Nhue, and Day rivers, such as dredging and tackling polluted water issues,” he said, adding these waterways would be essential in draining the water during the rainy season.

Vice Chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee Duong Duc Tuan noted the local authorities would work on an overall solution to assess the current status of the city’s water drainage system to upgrade if needed.

“Hanoi would continue to supervise the construction of urban development projects to ensure their compliance to technical infrastructure standards, especially the water drainage system,” he said.