The deputy chairman of the Ha Noi People’s Committee, Phi Thai Binh, said seven out of 34 projects that were planned to be completed in time to celebrate the millennial anniversary of Ha Noi, of which old name was Thang Long, were unlikely to be finished by the deadline of October, 2010.

The seven late projects include construction of a museum at the Co Loa Citadel and work on the Van Cao-Ho Tay road, as well as the lengthening of Nguyen Phong Sac, Le Trong Tan, No 32, Lang-Hoa Lac and Phap Van-Mai Dich roads.

According to the committee, the six traffic projects were delayed due to problems with land clearance procedures.

A deputy from the municipal People’s Council, Bui Thi An, said the delays were the fault of poor management from the municipal People’s Committee, which designated responsibilities for specific tasks under the projects to various departments.

Lack of cooperation

"The projects’ contractors cannot be blamed for the delays," said An.

Nguyen Van Nam, head of the city’s Economic Committee, said that while land clearance delayed the six traffic projects, a lack of co-operation between Government agencies delayed work on the museum at Co Loa Citadel.

Deputy head of the municipal People’s Council Le Quang Nhue said the six traffic projects played an important role in the city’s traffic plans and included investment of dozens of thousands of billion dong.

The chairman of the People’s Committee, Nguyen The Thao, said that in the coming time, the committee would focus on boosting the progress of these projects and guiding relevant departments to take more responsibility for the work.

For example, the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism is responsible for guiding construction of the Co Loa Citadel museum in terms of artistic or cultural factors, while the Department of Construction could get more involved in speeding up land clearance.