The renovation works of Hoan Kiem Lake in the heart of Hanoi need to be implemented quickly, avoiding major alteration to the surroundings, the People's Committee of Hoan Kiem District said on November 25.

Vice Chairman of the district government Pham Tuan Long said his committee has included upgrading the revetments around Hoan Kiem Lake in the project of construction, renovation and embellishment for the area around the lake in 2019.

Serious subsidence of embankments around Hoan Kiem lake. Photo: HNM

The entire embankment of Hoan Kiem Lake is about 1,600-meter long, of which about 600m have sunk.

The revetment around Hoan Kiem Lake is expected to be made of fiber-reinforced, non-corrosive concrete that can be eternal and is a Vietnamese technology. In November, this technology was piloted to embank a five-meter section at Truc Bach Lake, Ba Dinh district.

The construction plan would make no major impact on the surroundings with no tree being removed and the original soil structure under the sidewalks around the lake remaining intact. Also, the impact on urban traffic and people’s daily life would be minimized, Long noted.

Prof. Vu Dinh Phung from the Water Resources University of Vietnam said that the solution is reliable and the technology has been successfully piloted in Truc Bach Lake. "That the construction methods ensure no impact on the environmental landscape is important," Phung stressed.

Architect Nguyen Quoc Thong, standing vice president of the Vietnam Association of Architects, noted the architecture must be suitable to the landscape.

"It is necessary to create a link between the lake’s embankment and its water surface, combine trees and light to create a natural space," Thong added.

Vice Chairman of Hoan Kiem district People's Committee Pham Tuan Long affirmed that the experts’ advice will be reported to the Hanoi People's Committee before the project is implemented.

The embankment around Hoan Kiem Lake has been built for a long time and started showing signs of degradation from 2017, Long said.

In the immediate future, to ensure safety for the city’s residents and tourists visiting the lake, the Hoan Kiem Management Board started to place warning signs at fences of embankments and paths around the lake. It also regularly monitors any change of the embankment around the lake to promptly report to the local government for repair.