Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has called on authorities in Hanoi to exert all efforts to curb the increasingly serious traffic congestion in the capital.

PM Phuc, along with Deputy Premier Trinh Dinh Dung, convened a working session with leaders and competent authorities of the Vietnamese capital to address the problem on Monday morning.

Hanoi solved traffic jams at 16 out of 44 hotspots across the city in 2016, a delegate reported at the meeting, before adding that 13 new locations have emerged, taking the total number of congestion sites to 41 so far.

The primary cause is the lack of balance between traffic infrastructure and the rapid hike in the number of personal vehicles in the northern hub, the delegate continued.

According to Deputy PM Dung, population growth is also attributed to the rise in traffic gridlock as it has neutralized measures already taken.

Congestion will become even more severe in the next five years if no appropriate policy is applied on the use of personal vehicles, especially automobiles, in the city, Dung warned.

He called on local authorities to reorganize the city’s traffic in a more suitable manner, limiting the number of personal vehicles and promoting public transport.

The official suggested that manufacturing facilities be relocated away from downtown areas while priority be given to the construction of public service places instead of high-rise buildings.

An officer controls traffic on a Hanoi street on the evening of January 16, 2017. Photo: Tuoi Tre    

PM Phuc praised the efforts and coordination of relevant agencies to alleviate bottlenecks in the capital.

“Many solutions have not proved effective due to various reasons, as well as policy mechanisms,” the head of government said.

A clear and assertive process should be established to keep traffic jams from hampering local development, he continued.

One of the possible resolutions is not allowing the construction of skyscrapers in areas where traffic infrastructure is still insufficient, Phuc recommended, adding that the more people live in downtown areas, the more likely congestion is to occur.

According to the chairman of the municipal People’s Committee, Nguyen Duc Chung, all human resources from the city’s traffic police units have been tasked with traffic control on critical routes in the city to ensure traffic order ahead of the Lunar New Year.

“About 1,400 traffic police officers, along with assistance from other police divisions and students from the local police academy, will be in charge of monitoring the situation on the streets during rush hour,” Chung elaborated.

All roadworks are to be carried out at night, with sidewalks and roadways returned to their normal condition during the day, he added.  

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