More trees to fall as Hanoi brings out ax again for road widening

By Ba Do, Giang Huy January 2, 2019 | 01:26 am PT

Hanoi's road expansion project will involve removing nearly 500 trees along the To Lich River on Lang Street. Photo by VnExpress/Ba Do

Hanoi is widening a number of roads to ease the worsening congestion, and it involves felling scores of trees.

The VND125-billion ($5.3 million) task is expected to finish before the Lunar New Year next month.

Under the project, 371 trees on Lang Street near the city center will be moved and 105 others chopped down. The work began Tuesday and is expected to take a month’s time, expected to cost more than VND64 billion ($2.7 million).

Some locals said they have been familiar with the canopy, and losing it would be a regret.

Most of the trees to be chopped or moved are of flowering species: giant crape-myrtle, blackboard tree, royal poinciana, and African mahogany. Their trunks are less than 30 centimeters (12 inches) in diameter.

A tree to be moved is numbered. Photo by VnExpress/Giang Huy

The project will also involve narrowing the median on Pham Hung and Khuat Duy Tien streets in Tu Liem District, as well as Nghiem Xuan Yen and Nguyen Xien in Hoang Mai District.

In 2017 some 1,000 trees had been felled to widen part of Pham Van Dong Street in Tu Liem District.

The Administration of Technical Infrastructure under the Ministry of Construction said in a 2017 report that Vietnam’s biggest cities had only two to three square meters of green area per person.

That is a third or less than what the World Health Organization has recommended for a healthy urban life.