The luxury area flooded when it rains (photos: laodong)
A resident in Le Trong Tan-Geleximco urban area said, "It is considered one of the biggest areas in Hanoi with villas and terraced houses that can cost up to USD1m. But it actually feels like an abandoned child. The drainage system isn't connected with the main water systems and the whole area is flooded whenever it rains."
A woman walks on chairs and stools to reach her flooded house
The investor, Geleximco Company said they had worked with related agencies to find solutions. They also set up pumping stations and dredged the sewers.
Nguyen Quoc Thong, vice head of Vietnam Association of Architects said, "The drainage system must be integrated into the national system. But this area's drainage is still incomplete. Investors only care about building and selling more houses instead of the infrastructure."
Bui Ngoc Uyen from Hanoi Sewage and Drainage Company said new urban areas in the west, southwest and northwest of Hanoi, including Nam An Khanh Sudico, Bao Son Paradise and Le Trong Tan-Geleximco, were built on rice fields and low-lying areas. They mostly depend on the existing canals and agricultural irrigation system so the drainage is very slow.
Terraced houses in the Le Trong Tan-Geleximco Urban Area are flooded in a recent downpour
"There are probably some problems between drainage systems in urban areas and the agricultural irrigation system but it is not under our management," Uyen said.
Uyen suggested working with irrigation companies to lower the water level in Day and Nhue rivers since other pumping stations already worked to full capacity and Yen Nghia Station is still being built.
