Viet Nam rams through plans to supersize its capital but critics slam the move as ill-timed, given the country’s economic woes.

Viet Nam is embarking on an ambitious plan to almost quadruple the size of its capital despite reservations, even among members of the ruling Communist Party, about the move.

The scheme to ‘supersize’ Ha Noi has been criticised as unnecessary, ill-conceived and a distraction from the urgent need to tackle the nation’s severe economic downturn.

Viet Nam is in the throes of its worst economic slump in decades with its stock market in free fall, a banking and currency crisis, inflation hitting 25 per cent and growing strike action by workers across the country.

Said lawyer Nguyen Tran Bat, chairman of Investconsult, one of Viet Nam’s major business advisory groups: “The project to expand Ha Noi is illogical, poorly thought out and wrong. It is just a bad decision at a bad time.”

Added Nguyen Thanh Ha, a Ha Noi construction company executive: “I don’t understand why the government spends all this time and effort discussing the size of Ha Noi when it should be solving our economic problems.”

Under the plan, the capital’s borders will grow 3.6 times and its population will double to 6.2 million, making it bigger than Singapore and Kuala Lumpur.

But it has drawn such strong opposition that no fewer than six ministers were dispatched to the National Assembly to try to argue its merits—with little success.

“You mean, Ha Noi has already used up its entire 920 sq km?” asked assemblywoman Nguyen Thi Tuyen sarcastically.

Deputy Ngo Van Hung doubted if Ha Noi could be turned into a cultural and international entrepot so easily, saying: “I’m afraid we will not have a Ha Noi that meets all these expectations by this time next century.”
When ministerial cajoling failed, a scheduled May 23 vote on the measure had to be cancelled. As a compromise, the regime agreed to delay implementation of the plan from July 1 to Aug 1 and focus more attention on fighting inflation.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung personally went to the legislature to answer complaints that his government had not properly explained the plan’s rationale, its financial cost, nor its social and cultural impact.

He conceded that an earlier presentation was flawed, but argued that supersizing Ha Noi will make it a “cultural, political and economic centre’ equal to other great cities in the region—and even resorted to feng shui.”

Said Dung: “Ha Noi will lean against the Ba Vi Mountains and face the Hong River. It will be stable in the curling-dragon-crouching-tiger position.”

Despite the continued criticism, however, there was never any doubt that the regime’s plan would be approved. When the debate finally ended, a majority of deputies - all either party members or affiliated with the party—swallowed their qualms and voted for the proposal.
But concerns about the scheme and its timing remain.

Said Dr Truong Thai Son, a director of Hoang Quan Real Estate Corp in Ho Chi Minh City: “Yes, the National Assembly finally approved it, but I’m still worried about how the government can control the funds to implement it.”

The protracted opposition and forceful way it was expressed have also fuelled perceptions that Dung’s team has been weakened by the ongoing economic crisis.

It has become so severe that respected financial institutions like Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Deutsche Bank have voiced concern that an International Monetary Fund-style rescue package may be needed. (ROGER MITTON In Ha Noi/ The Straits Times/ AsiaNews)