Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - Land use efficiency in cities in Vietnam remainslow due to delayed projects, unused houses and improper land use planning,according to experts.

Chairman of Vietnam ConstructionAssociation Tran Ngoc Hung said that on average, every square kilometre ofurban land in Vietnam was used by about 2,100 people, while in other Asiancountries, the rate was about 10,000 people per square kilometre.

Delayed projects accompanied by unused landand unused houses caused significant wastage and low land use efficiency, hesaid.

He added that Vietnam gave up too much landand investment on housing projects in cities, which hindered the development ofnew urban areas or satellite cities.

In Hanoi alone, major central hospitalslike Bach Mai, Viet Duc or Military Hospital 108 have been expanded to meet theincreased demand. Many State and Government offices are based in the citycentre, and big hotels are built on crowded streets.

The move of factories from inner-citydistricts was expected to make room for public infrastructure like parks,schools or play grounds. However, so-called high profit housing projects havetypically been developed on the land where the factories used to be.

“Once new urban areas and satellite citiesfail to attract people to live and work, projects there faced risks of beinghalted or delayed,” Hung told a recent meeting on urban land use efficiencyheld by the association. He cited examples of projects along Thang LongBoulevard or National Highway 32 in Hanoi, the urban area to the east of HaiPhong city.

“Increased land use efficiency in cities isan important factor to develop green and modern cities,” he said.

Dao Trung Chinh, vice head of the LandManagement Department under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmentsaid the Government had approved land use plans but such plans were notimplemented strictly.

Investors were not interested in projectsin old urban areas because of modest available land, high prices, and highpopulation density, he said.

“Vietnam still needs a better legalframework on urban development control to attract investors,” he said.

Associate Professor and Dr Tran Trong Hanh,former principal of Hanoi Architecture University said that in order toincrease land use efficiency in urban areas, it was necessary to classify landfor urban construction, identify optimal capacity of urban areas, and selectland for urban construction.

Hanh suggested that a sustainableimmigration policy could pave the way to higher land use efficiency in urbanareas.

Land use planning should be in accordance withurban planning, he added. - VNA