Living in fear in tilted apartments

The floor tilted, the anxiety increased.

An official from the People's Committee of Ward 27, Binh Thanh District, said that Thanh Da apartment complex (Ward 27, Binh Thanh District, Ho Chi Minh City) has 8 numbered lots, with over 1,000 households living there. All of the numbered apartment buildings were built before 1975. After decades of use, these lots have now seriously degraded. Of these, lots I, II, IV, VI are the most worrying. The walls of these lots have cracked, the concrete has come loose, and the iron is exposed... the foundation has sunk, causing the entire apartment block to tilt, with the two ends gradually coming closer together. Faced with the risk of the apartment building collapsing, the authorities have organized the evacuation of residents from lots IV and VI, while residents in lots I and II are still clinging on, struggling with the danger.

%4c.jpg — Lot I of Thanh Da apartment building has been heavily tilted, the two ends of the apartment building are close together.

At apartment blocks I and II, the blocks were heavily tilted, with the two ends of the apartment leaning close together. On the upper floors, the walls in the apartments were not only cracked and damaged, but the floors were also tilted. The doors were all warped and deformed, requiring repairs to open and close. Because the floors were tilted, furniture in the house was difficult to place properly, and walking and daily activities were also difficult. Ms. Truong Thi Mong Lan in apartment 001, block I, said that the households on the upper floors had tilted floors, while the households on the ground floor were flooded. People had built walls and brick walls to prevent water from entering the house, but on days of heavy rain and high tides, water rose from the brick floors, flooding the house and furniture.

According to local residents, the tilted apartment building has changed its structure, causing cracks in the walls and tearing off concrete beams and columns, causing the tilting and deterioration of the houses to become faster and faster. The tilted apartment blocks are difficult to repair, and the walls are prone to cracking and peeling again. The higher the floor, the greater the tilt. Residents are not only worried about the apartment building collapsing, but their lives and activities are also becoming more difficult.

Resettlement too slow

In recent days, when it rains heavily, residents in the tilted apartment building have had to struggle to prevent flooding. Every time they look up, they become more worried as they see the two ends of the apartment building getting closer and closer together. People are wondering when they will be able to escape living in the tilted apartment building, which could collapse at any time. Hundreds of families in lots IV and VI have been able to escape from the tilted apartment building, and have had to temporarily live there for many years, not knowing when they will be able to settle down.

Located at lot IV, VI, where people have relocated to build new apartments, the project is still an empty lot, surrounded by high walls. This is the first project in the project to resettle people in 8 apartment buildings with numbered lots of Thanh Da apartment building. According to the plan, the project is located on a land area of over ^14,000m2 , will build 45-storey buildings, with a scale of over 1,700 apartments, providing accommodation for 2,900 people. Thanh Da Housing Development Company is the investor implementing the project. While people are eagerly waiting to be relocated out of the tilted apartment building and settle down soon, the investor implementing the project is too slow.

Talking to us, Mr. Nguyen Quoc Thong, Chairman of Ward 27 People's Committee, Binh Thanh District, informed: Of the 8 apartment buildings with numbered lots, 4 are severely degraded and dangerous for residents due to sinking foundations and tilted buildings. The authorities promptly dismantled lots IV and VI to bring residents out. Up to now, 2 lots remain and residents are living with the danger. Not only residents but also local officials are sitting on hot coals when they see the apartment buildings increasingly tilting.

The staff of Ward 27 People's Committee said that everyone was worried but could only make recommendations and encourage people because the relocation and construction of resettlement apartments were decided by the superiors. On December 19, 2017, the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee issued Document No. 7852/UBND-DT recognizing Thanh Da Housing Development Joint Stock Company as the investor of the cluster of 8 apartment blocks with numbers. In the urban development and renovation plan for the period 2018-2020, including the completion of construction of blocks IV and VI in 2019 and the completion of relocation of the remaining blocks in 2020... People and local authorities waited every day, but many years passed, the resettlement projects for people were still on paper.

TRAN YEN

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/song-nom-nop-trong-cac-chung-cu-nghieng-post797230.html