The Hanoi Construction Department has addressed deficiencies to speed up the construction of nine new parks and renovate old ones downtown.

Plans focus on accelerating the progress of land clearance, strictly handling encroachment into areas planned for the parks, and coordinating with local authorities to persuade residents to move tombs and shrines.

So far, more than 99 hectares have been cleared for the construction of Kim Quy Culture, Tourism and Entertainment Park (100 hectares) in Dong Anh District. The Department of Construction has requested Dong Anh District to speed up land clearance to complete preparations for the park project.

Dads and their children are walking in Bach Thao Park in Hanoi. Photo: Trieu Tam/The Hanoi Times

At the planned site of Chu Van An Memorial Park in Thanh Tri District (50.9 ha), after many years, several roads to the park have been completed, and some communal houses and pagodas have been repaired.

Astronomy Park (8 ha), located in Duong Noi urban area in Ha Dong District, has been completed but has not been accepted yet. The Department of Construction proposed the municipal authorities handle issues to put the park into operation soon.

The construction of Ha Dong cultural, amusement and sports park (98 ha) has not started because no investors have been selected. To make the project possible, the Construction Planning Institute will draw up a detailed master plan for the park.

The Dong Da park project (7.09 ha) has been planned for nearly 20 years but has not been authorized for construction. Dong Da District is requested to thoroughly address land violations in the area planned for the park.

The construction of CV1 Reservoir Park in Cau Giay and Nam Tu Liem Districts (27.7 ha) started in 2016 and has not been completed. Relevant units are asked to clear the remaining 1,300 square meters of the park and speed up the construction progress of the road connecting to the park.

* Along with building the new parks mentioned above, Hanoi city will spend resources on renovating Thong Nhat, Thu Le, and Bach Thao parks in the coming time.

Thong Nhat Park (48ha) in Hanoi will be prioritized for synchronous renovation and upgrading. Photo: Thuy Chi

Thong Nhat Park (48 ha), which will function as an open park combined with services, will be open to the public free of charge. The general budget will bear renovation costs.

Meanwhile, the current infrastructure of Thu Le Park does not meet local people's needs for entertainment and relaxation services. To improve services, the municipal government might commission the Department of Finance to propose a plan for park management.

On the other hand, Bach Thao Park (10 ha) will receive significant investments to improve degraded infrastructure. 

In another move, Hanoi authorities have agreed to offer free admission to Thong Nhat, Bach Thao, and Hoa Binh parks, as the parks are public leisure destinations for residents.

Recently, a working group led by a vice chairman of the People's Committee has been established to review and accelerate green park projects.

Hanoi has managed four parks, including Thong Nhat, Thu Le, Bach Thao, and Hoa Binh. Since late 2021, the city plans to renovate these parks.

In addition, around 40 flower garden parks managed by districts will also be renovated from 2021 to 2025, including Linh Dam, Bac Linh Dam, Linh Dam Peninsula, Ba Mau, Nghia Do, Cau Giay, Den Lu, Indira Gandhi, and Nguyen Trai.

Compared with the standards, the percentage of land area for parks in Hanoi remains low, only about 2 square meters per person, accounting for only 1/10 of the green tree norm in the world's advanced cities.

Experts said that Hanoi needs to renovate and build new parks to ensure an average tree cover of 6-7m2 per person if the city wants to make parks great again by 2023.

“Hanoi must make sure that park projects under implementation are completed properly. For other park projects, whose plans have been approved, the city should ensure that the park sites are protected from the encroachment of buildings and houses,” National Assembly deputy Truong Xuan Cu said on the sidelines of the 4th congress of the 15th National Assembly.