National Assembly Chairman: Absolutely do not legalize mini apartments

On September 20, at the 26th session of the National Assembly Standing Committee giving opinions on the draft Law on the Capital (amended), National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue mentioned decentralization and delegation of authority to Hanoi City to regulate regulations and standards in areas such as environment, traffic, and fire prevention and fighting.

Chủ tịch Quốc hội: Dứt khoát không hợp thức hoá chung cư mini - Ảnh 1.

National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue raised a number of issues about the draft Law on the Capital (amended).

The National Assembly Chairman also pointed out the shortcomings of mini apartments in Hanoi. Therefore, the National Assembly Chairman requested the Law Committee to review the draft Law on Housing (amended), and definitely not legalize mini apartments in the law.

"The recent incident was very painful (the mini apartment fire in Thanh Xuan district, Hanoi - PV). Therefore, in the draft Law on the Capital (amended), will Hanoi be allowed to regulate standards and regulations on areas such as environment, traffic, and fire prevention?" - the National Assembly Chairman stated clearly.

At the meeting, Secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee Dinh Tien Dung also emphasized that "mini apartments are extremely inadequate". Regarding the recent apartment fire in Thanh Xuan district, Mr. Dinh Tien Dung said that according to the planning and current regulations, a 6-storey building is allowed, but in reality, building up to 9 floors is a violation.

However, the Secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee said that the actual conditions of infrastructure and traffic in the area where the fire occurred, and the permission to build 6 floors, were inadequate; this area may only be suitable for 2-3 floors. Based on that reality, Mr. Dinh Tien Dung suggested that in the draft of the Law on the Capital (amended), it is necessary to empower Hanoi to prescribe standards and regulations suitable to reality to ensure long-term security and safety.

Secretary General and Head of the National Assembly Office Bui Van Cuong also pointed out that based on the reality of the capital's development, especially after the heartbreaking incident of the mini-apartment fire in Thanh Xuan district and the existence of more than 2,000 individual houses of other mini-apartment types, the orientation of construction and development of the capital Hanoi is somewhat difficult to control, even when the Capital Law was issued in 2012, more than 10 years ago.

According to Mr. Bui Van Cuong, not only the 2012 Capital Law, but also the Ordinance on Capital and many resolutions of the National Assembly have had specific policies for the capital city of Hanoi. "That is the consequence of over-population in the inner city area, along with lax management" - the Secretary General of the National Assembly emphasized.

As reported by Nguoi Lao Dong Newspaper, at around 11 p.m. on September 12, a particularly serious fire broke out at mini apartment building No. 37, alley 29/70, Khuong Ha Street (Khuong Dinh Ward, Thanh Xuan District, Hanoi City), killing 56 people and injuring 37 others.

On September 20, the Hanoi Police Investigation Agency announced the conclusion of the investigation into the cause of the fire. Specifically, according to the conclusion of the Criminal Science Institute of the Ministry of Public Security, the starting point of the fire was located in the area adjacent to the southern wall, about 2.3 m from the eastern wall on the first floor inside the mini apartment building.

The cause of the fire was determined to be an electrical short circuit in the electrical line in the battery area of the front of a gasoline-powered motorbike (scooter type) located against the south wall of the first floor, causing the fire, according to a notice from the investigation agency.

According to the forensic conclusion, the fire then spread to the electrical cable area, the electric meter boxes mounted on the wall on the first floor and spread to the surrounding area, leading to a terrible fire that killed 56 people. Of the 4 fire extinguishers sent for forensic examination, 3 had not been used and 1 had been used.

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