While Hanoi grapples with a severe shortage of schools and hospitals, several former state-run agency headquarters in Ha Dong District have been left deserted for years, indicating a waste of valuable public resources.

A Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper correspondent on Thursday visited To Hieu Street in Ha Dong, where certain government buildings have remained unused for 17 years.

Located at 32 To Hieu, the former headquarters of the People’s Procuracy remains locked behind rusted gates.

The building is in a state of disrepair, with large sections of walls peeling and ample plants.

“This is such a waste,” Loi, a local, said of the building, adding that it should be repurposed for public use.

Nearby, the former Ha Tay Provincial Radio and Television Station also stands vacant, with its three-story structure severely deteriorating.

Cracks have appeared all along the walls, while the ground floor now serves as storage for discarded signs from a neighboring bank.

At 55 To Hieu, another abandoned facility -- formerly the headquarters of the Statistical Data Collection and Information Technology Application Department under the General Statistics Office -- is also in a run-down state.

Similarly, at 5 Nguyen Trai Street, the old Department of Science and Technology office is partially vacated, with its windows shattered and the front yard now serving as an informal marketplace for flower vendors.

At 29 To Hieu, the former Ha Dong State Treasury building remains shuttered.

Speaking to Tuoi Tre the same day, a local official said that management and repurposing of these sites fall under the jurisdiction of the Hanoi People’s Committee.

In September, the Ha Dong administration issued an official dispatch, urging relevant agencies to assess and propose solutions for these neglected properties.

The dispatch highlighted that these sites were originally reserved for administrative use prior to Ha Tay Province being merged into Hanoi in 2008.

However, ineffective management has led to significant waste.

The district has initiated a review and reallocation of these properties to prevent further waste of public assets.

Properties identified as surplus will be reported to higher authorities for reassignment or repurposing, following legal guidelines to ensure their effective use for the community.

In recent years, the Vietnamese capital has experienced a severe shortage of schools and hospitals, especially in newly-developed urban areas and inner-city districts.

Rapid population growth, inadequate planning, and delayed implementation of social infrastructure projects were said to have presented multiple challenges for the city’s education and healthcare sectors.

Hanoi recorded a sharp rise in the number of sixth-grade students in the 2023-24 academic year at188,429, marking an increase of 38,519 from a year earlier.

To satisfy this demand, the capital requires 1,315 additional classrooms, according to Tap Chi Cong San (Communist Magazine).

In Hoang Mai District, which has the largest population in the city with more than 700,000, it adds around 4,000 new students annually, leading to a current shortfall of 43 schools, the Vietnam News Agency reported.

VOV reported that Hanoi currently has nearly 23,000 hospital beds and needs over 4,000 more.

This dearth is a key factor contributing to the localized bed capacity crisis at Thanh Nhan Hospital and several other hospitals across Hanoi.

VOV added that the lack of hospital beds is even more severe at central-level hospitals.

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