Poorly constructed apartment buildings in Hanoi and HCM City have become a danger to tenants.
Ceiling collapses again after repair
Nguyen Manh Hung, a resident of one such building in Cau Giay District said that his family has evacuated the apartment for fear that the ceiling will collapse a fourth time.
"The apartment has been repaired many times, but we have the same problem again after just a short while. Last time we were lucky. The ceiling fell right on the bed, but we were not home. The management is well aware of this problem, but they seem to ignore it."
In the Hanoi Housing Development and Investment Corporation's apartment building, located in Vong Street, many residents avoid what they call the 'horror elevator', which sometimes stops or goes into free fall.
"My family experienced elevator fall three times in one month. If the mechanical break hadn't worked, I'm sure we would have died," a resident complained.
The elevators appear to be new and the building was just put to use in 2008.
Hung, a resident in Momota complex in Nguyen Duc Canh Street, complained that he is forced to use the stairs to get to the 15th floor because the elevator is usually either out of order or too crowded.
"My child has to walk up the stairs too because the elevators here are quite small. At rush hour there's no room left." Hung said.
Outside of many buildings, garbage is not collected. The residents said the janitors only work once every two or three days. Many of the buildings also lack emergency exits or fire protection systems.
According to a survey conducted by the Ministry of Construct, 90% of apartment buildings in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City were not up to standard, and 25% were considered 'dilapidated'.
Nguyen Kim Duc, head of Assessment Division 2 of Department of State Assessment of Construction Work Quality, said the major cause is subsidence. He said these buildings were constructed on unsolid ground or even filled-in lakes. Lack of maintainence was also an issue, he said.
Elevators stop and fall suddenly
