An official from the Hanoi Department of Planning and Architecture said they bent Truong Trinh Road to meet the best urban planning scenario, not to avoid the houses of state officials.
The local authorities of Hanoi are expanding Truong Chinh Road in order to reduce congestion during rush hours. However, complaints have been filed recently after it was noticed that the once straight road now had a curved section.
Local citizens said the construction did not follow the general urban planning with such strange curves. There is a rumour that the road is bent to avoid the houses of some officials.
The Department of Planning and Architecture (DPA) said at a meeting on the issue on April 8 that there is an air force headquarter on Truong Chinh Street so they had to seek opinions from the Ministry of National Defence. By the request of the air force, the road will expanded more to the south.
"This is a very soft curve and the change is allowed by the laws of constructions. The adjustment does not compromise with any technical problems and standards. There is no personal benefit involved in and the accusation is groundless," said Duong Duc Tuan, vice director of DPA.
Nguyen Van Thinh, deputy head of Hanoi People's Committee Office said the general urban planning was already approved by the Prime Minister. However, the detailed planning is more complicated and may be face with unexpected problems. They had to gather opinions from agencies and the public before carrying out the project.
He said that even though they have to bend the road a little, it still meets the standards and requires less site clearance work.
