Billion-dollar hospital project exists only on paper, occupying prime land.

Despite being grandly planned on prime land in the heart of the capital, many multi-billion dollar hospital projects with hundreds of beds remain on paper. Meanwhile, numerous public hospitals are severely overcrowded.

The land for the Quang Trung General Hospital project has been recommended for revocation due to the delay in implementation for nearly 8 years.

Prime state-owned land leased at bargain prices; Close-up of abandoned government-owned villas on 'prime land'; Proposal to revoke a hospital project stalled for nearly 8 years in the capital.

"Left idle" for a decade

In 2008, the Hanoi People's Committee decided to reclaim 35,957 square meters of land in Yen So ward (Hoang Mai district) and hand it over to Quang Trung General Hospital Joint Stock Company for the construction of Quang Trung General Hospital. However, according to Mr. Nguyen Quoc Quyet, Chairman of the Yen So Ward People's Committee, the project remains on paper to this day. “This project involves nearly 300 households whose land is being reclaimed, but it has dragged on for many years. Even though the district has approved the compensation and support plan, the investor has not yet disbursed the money to the people, causing frustration at ward meetings and voter outreach meetings. The ward has also repeatedly requested the relevant authorities to proceed with the project,” Mr. Quyet stated.

According to observations by a reporter from Tien Phong newspaper, the land allocated to the enterprise for the Quang Trung General Hospital project is located in a prime location, right on Tam Trinh Street—the main road of Hoang Mai district—surrounded by high-rise building projects. Currently, the land is still agricultural land belonging to local households: "The project mostly involves agricultural land used for production by the people; only 5 households have residential land on Tam Trinh Street. We have repeatedly petitioned the investor to implement the project and pay compensation to the people because the project has dragged on for so many years without any progress," said Ms. Thu, a resident near the project.

Not only the Quang Trung General Hospital project, but another mega-hospital project has also been stalled for many years in a prime location in Ha Dong district. This is the Ha Dong International Hospital project located in Duong Noi ward (Ha Dong district). Before the planning adjustments, this project had a total area of ​​approximately 16.65 hectares. In 2008, the Ha Dong International Hospital Complex project was granted an investment certificate by the People's Committee of Ha Tay province (formerly). After its merger with Hanoi, it was expected to be an international-standard hospital project at the western gateway of the capital, with hundreds of beds and a total investment of thousands of billions of dong.

In 2011, the Hanoi People's Committee approved the adjustment of the 1/500 scale planning and requested the investor to accelerate the project's progress, but the project remains stalled: "Recently, the city approved the detailed plan for the Ha Dong International Hospital. However, the land allocated for the Ha Dong International Hospital is only about 7.1 hectares with a maximum capacity of 600 beds. The majority of the remaining land is for building a shopping center. Hopefully, with this planning adjustment, the investor will proceed with the project because it has been delayed for almost ten years," said an official from Duong Noi ward.

Assigning it to a company that lacks the capacity.

According to the investment certificate issued by Hanoi City to Quang Trung General Hospital Joint Stock Company, headquartered at 104 Tue Tinh Street, Nguyen Du Ward (Hai Ba Trung District, Hanoi) in 2007, the project was scheduled to be completed within 18 months starting from the first quarter of 2008. “To date, the project has not yet implemented compensation and land clearance support because the company has not secured the necessary capital. The district has also submitted a request to the city to revoke the project due to its prolonged delay,” a representative from Hoang Mai District stated.

According to Deputy Director of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment (TN&MT) Nguyen Huu Nghia, the Department's Inspectorate has conducted an inspection of the Quang Trung General Hospital project of Quang Trung General Hospital Joint Stock Company in Yen So ward (Hoang Mai district). Mr. Nghia also stated that regulations stipulate that if, within 12 consecutive months from the date of land handover, the investor does not put the land into use, or is more than 24 months behind the schedule stated in the project, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment will prepare a dossier and submit it to the city for the revocation of the allocated land.

According to the Department of Natural Resources and Environment, the inspection also revealed that the company failed to demonstrate its capacity and funding to implement the project. "The main reason for the delay in implementing the Quang Trung General Hospital construction project by Quang Trung General Hospital Joint Stock Company is that the company could not demonstrate its capacity and could not allocate the necessary funds to carry out the project," the inspection report from the Department of Natural Resources and Environment stated.

Representatives from the districts where the stalled hospital projects are located said that these are large-scale projects approved by the city, but the investors' slow implementation has a significant impact on the locality. "The investors were allocated land by the city but they haven't started the project, while residents whose land has been confiscated are constantly petitioning the district to resolve the compensation and support issues definitively. Therefore, for the Quang Trung General Hospital project, the district has unanimously proposed that the city revoke the project and assign it to another capable investor," said an official from Hoang Mai district.

According to the Hanoi Department of Natural Resources and Environment, based on the inspection findings, the Department has recommended that the city assign the Department of Planning and Investment to prepare the necessary documents to revoke the investment project for the construction of Quang Trung General Hospital in Yen So ward, Hoang Mai district, which was granted to Quang Trung General Hospital Joint Stock Company.

According to TPO