Built and put into use before 1975, apartment buildings A and B in Dam Market (Van Thanh Ward, Nha Trang City) have now seriously deteriorated. For many years, more than 260 households in these two apartment blocks have lived in constant anxiety and worry due to the no longer-assured quality of the buildings.
Severe deterioration
According to the reporter's observations, the concrete roofs of Blocks A and B of Dam Market Apartment Complex are currently peeling, exposing rusty iron frames. Many sections of the concrete railings have collapsed, and residents have welded iron railings to replace them; the back walls of the apartment complex are damp and overgrown with ferns. The electrical and water systems are also severely degraded. Ms. Nguyen Thi Du (85 years old, a retired official) just finished a major renovation of her apartment on the 4th floor, costing over 200 million VND. Ms. Du said that she was allocated housing in Block A of Dam Market Apartment Complex in 1978. In the years after the country's liberation, life was difficult, so most residents in this apartment complex resorted to raising pigs and chickens. The cramped conditions and livestock farming led to serious pollution; the drainage system was clogged and damaged; the brick walls were severely damaged and waterlogged due to residents using firewood for cooking. Her apartment requires constant repairs. This time, she had to spend a large sum of money to deal with water leaks, re-tiling, and waterproofing the kitchen and bathroom areas. In addition, the electrical wiring in the apartment building was exposed and very old, so it would short-circuit and cause power outages whenever it rained heavily; the water pipes were also old, broken, and leaking into the walls.
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| The area behind Apartment Building A is very dilapidated. |
In 2004, Mr. Le Van Minh, Head of the Neighborhood Security Committee of Apartment Building A in Cho Dam Market, bought a ground-floor apartment for business purposes. Currently, the entire ceiling is leaking and peeling; long cracks have appeared on the walls. Every time it rains, Mr. Minh has to prepare dozens of buckets to catch the water. “One night, residents here heard an alarm, then saw the water pipes burst, leaking like a stream. Due to the old design, there is no main valve to cut off the water, so the Khanh Hoa Water Supply and Drainage Joint Stock Company had to cut off the water to the entire area and then urgently repair it. In early July this year, there was also a 3-day water outage here for system repairs, forcing residents to rush to buy water to use…,” Mr. Minh said.
Occupying the space under the stairs as a living area.
According to our investigation, currently, in Blocks A and B of the Dam Market Apartment Complex, some residents are illegally occupying common areas at the foot of the staircases for business, living, and lodging. After reviewing the situation, the People's Committee of Van Thanh Ward determined that Ms. Le Thi Thi is occupying nearly 3 square meters of common space at the foot of the staircase in Apartment Complex A for living; Mr. Duong Quoc Viet and Ms. Nguyen Ngoc Thy Huong are each occupying approximately 6 square meters at the foot of the staircase in Apartment Complex A and Apartment Complex B for living, while also blocking the emergency exit of the complex.
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| The roof is leaking at Apartment Building A, owned by Mr. Le Van Minh. |
Mr. Trinh Ngoc Tam, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Van Thanh Ward , said that these three households have been living at the foot of the staircase for over 30 years. Previously, these households faced difficult living conditions, so the neighborhood committee facilitated their residence. Later, the ward organized efforts to persuade them to relocate to ensure fire safety, but they refused. Recently, Ms. Thi and Ms. Huong submitted a petition requesting permission to remain, but the People's Committee of the ward issued a written response rejecting the request and demanding their relocation. On July 7th, the People's Committee of Nha Trang City sent a document to the City Police, the Urban Management Department, and the People's Committee of Van Thanh Ward, requesting urgent action against the households that have illegally occupied common areas, affecting fire safety at Apartment Buildings A and B of Dam Market. The ward has drawn up a report and submitted it to the Urban Management Department to advise the People's Committee of Nha Trang City on taking steps towards forcibly relocating these households.
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| The exposed electrical wiring, having been in use for many years, is prone to short circuits, causing power outages. |
According to Mr. Tam, Apartment Buildings A and B in Dam Market were built before 1975. These two apartment blocks are four stories high, comprising over 260 apartments, with an average area of approximately 50 square meters per unit. After nearly 50 years of use, these two apartment blocks have deteriorated and no longer provide a safe living environment for residents. During meetings with constituents, residents have repeatedly complained about the deteriorating condition of their apartments.
Renovate or rebuild?
According to residents, in 2014-2015, households living in Apartment Buildings A and B of Cho Dam Market received survey forms from Song Da Nha Trang Joint Stock Company regarding the demolition of these two apartment blocks for reconstruction. The households would be resettled in the same location. However, it is estimated that only one-third of the households agreed to the demolition and reconstruction.
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| The roof was peeling, exposing the rusty iron frame. |
On April 26, 2013, the Provincial People's Committee issued Decision No. 1048 approving the 1/500 detailed planning of Dam Market - Nha Trang. According to this plan, a new apartment building with 18 above-ground floors and one parking floor will be constructed at the location of Apartment Block A; a night market serving tourists and a parking lot will be built at the location of Apartment Block B. Since 2018, the Department of Construction has requested Song Da Nha Trang Joint Stock Company (currently the investor of the Dam Market - Nha Trang Project) to develop a plan for rebuilding the apartment buildings, including: building height, number of floors, floor area, plan for demolishing the old apartment buildings, funding sources, implementation schedule, etc. However, Song Da Nha Trang Joint Stock Company argues that investing in the construction according to the approved plan would not guarantee the investor's economic viability. Therefore, the company proposed building three apartment buildings, including two 40-story blocks and one 26-story block, with an area of up to 6,296 m² (encroaching on the parking lot, green space, and night market area). The Department of Construction argued that the plan lacked sufficient basis for approval because it did not conform to the 1/500 scale detailed planning of Dam Market - Nha Trang. Since then, the construction or renovation of Apartment Buildings A and B at Dam Market has remained unresolved.
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| Apartment buildings A and B in Dam Market are in serious disrepair due to their age. |
Mr. Tran Van Chau, Deputy Director of the Department of Construction, said that the department is developing a plan to re-evaluate the quality of buildings in several old and dilapidated apartment buildings in Nha Trang, with a total budget of nearly 400 million VND, to be implemented in 2023. After the inspection results are available, the Department of Construction will submit a report to the Provincial People's Committee for approval to renovate and repair the dilapidated apartment buildings. However, according to the 1/500 detailed planning of Dam Market - Nha Trang, Block A will be a 18-story apartment building, and Block B will be a parking lot and a night market to serve tourism . Therefore, the Department of Construction will review the regulations and progress of the planning implementation and seek guidance from the Provincial People's Committee on how to address the dilapidated condition of Apartment Buildings A and B of Dam Market.
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