Ventilation well to be built near residential area
Tran Dung Son, a local on Kim Ma Street, said they totally approve the Nhon-Hanoi Railway Station project which would help improve the urban traffic. However, the ventilation well of the project is only 2.5 to 3 metres away from housing."If the construction is built there, it would badly affect our daily lives and health of hundreds of households living nearby," Son said.
Son wondered why the well was not placed at the parking lot on the opposite side of the street but at a residential area. Hundreds of billions of VND can be saved as well since the government wouldn't have to spend so much for ground clearance task.
"Furthermore, the health of the residents won't be affected," he said.
Another local also said he support the project but weary about the ventilation well. If the well is built so close to the houses, he may move out to somewhere else because of the noise and dust that increase the risk of getting heart and respiratory diseases.
The residents in Ngoc Khanh Ward, Ba Dinh District, also complained the design violated national technical regulations on underground constructions in urban area of the Ministry of Construction.
According to the regulations, the distance from the ventilation wells to the main streets, commercial areas and residential houses must be at least 25 metres. Meanwhile, the opposite of the street has a parking lot and fewer households.
In 2014, Deputy Minister of Construction Le Quang Hung signed an official document that stated designers and planners must follow the national technical regulations or have appropriate measures to ensure that requirements in the regulations will be met.
The ministry's representative suggested that Hanoi Urban Railway Management Board should carry out research to expand the ground clearance area, or find technical measures to protect the environment and the safety of the residents. The managers must explain to the residents if necessary.
During a recent meeting with households that are affected by ground clearance task, Vice Chairman of Ba Dinh District Nguyen Phong Cam said, maybe the people hadn't satisfied but they were very careful in accepting requests.
"We already told the city authorities that the people want to move the ventilation well to the opposite side of the street, however, the authorities had held two meetings without finding any other suitable location. The people have the right to continue complaining and we'll be by their side," he said.
