Huế needs to speed up relocation around Imperial Citadel

HUẾ CITY — The Imperial Citadel area in Huế City of Thừa Thiên-Huế Province has been seriously affected by the slow progress of relocation and site clearance for many years.

The situation has badly affected the beauty of the relic area. Huế Imperial Citadel is a massive and unique military architecture that harmoniously combines oriental cultural elements with the style and layout of  一 九th-century European fortresses.

Experiencing the ups and downs of history, when the Nguyễn Dynasty ended in  一 九 四 五, people migrated from many areas of Thừa Thiên-Huế and other provinces to live and build makeshift houses around the Citadel. This seriously infringed upon the city’s relics.

In  二0 一 九, a project on relocation and site clearance in the Imperial Citadel area was launched with two phases. The first phase implemented in the  二0 一 九- 二 一 period focused on relocating people.

After more than three years of implementing the Phase  一, the People's Co妹妹ittee of Huế City has completed the relocation of  三, 一 八 七 people living in Thượng Thánh, Eo Bầu and Hộ Thành Hào (protection of the canal surrounding the citadel) relics.

However, in reality, the handover of land was very slow, far below the set plan.

Many households have moved to new resettlement areas, leaving behind unfinished dismantled houses, while many others have not yet handed over their premises to the authorities for various reasons.

This created a sprawling landscape, causing the urban beauty of the tourist city to decay.

The areas of Thượng Thành and Eo Bầu relics on Xuân  六 八 Road of Đông Ba Ward are the first places where residents dismantled their houses and moved to the relocation areas a few years ago.

However, the landscape has become desolate with overgrown wild plants and construction waste from demolition works that have not been treated completely.

Many people compare these places to "battlefields" in the heart of Huế City.

The house of Võ Văn Phụng’s family in the Eo Bầu area is nestled between houses that are being dismantled.

Like many households that have not yet handed over their premises to the authorities, Phụng stated that he has not yet paid the State to receive resettlement land.

Meanwhile, other households who refused to move out said that they were waiting for the completion of their new houses in the resettlement area in Bắc Hương Sơ Ward.

Along Lương Ngọc Quyến and Tôn Thất Thiệp streets, it is easy to see landfills of construction materials and daily-life wastes on the relic land.

Many roads around the wall’s citadel have weeds growing.

In particular, some locations have become ideal places for drug addicts where needles are scattered indiscriminately.