Hanoi construction site forces motorcyclists on to sidewalk

The 100-meter section is blocked off by corrugated iron sheets.

Construction is being done for the Yen Xa wastewater treatment plant by a Japanese contractor since September 2022, and it is only expected to be completed in April 2024.

A woman steps aside to make space for motorcyclists.

At its narrowest point, the sidewalk is less than 50 centimeters wide.

An electric pole on the sidewalk makes things worse.

A steel sheet covers a damaged portion of the sidewalk.

"Many people have fallen off their vehicles when driving through this area," a local resident said.

The corrugated iron is sharp in places and sticks out, posing grave danger to passersby.

A man walks his bicycle through a section where flagstones have been damaged by motorbikes.

Though all the machinery and equipment have been removed, the construction site has not been dismantled.

"This site has seriously affected our livelihood," Linh, who owns a motorbike repair shop on Luong The Vinh Street, says.

Worried vehicles would bump into its signboard, one shop uses a chain to protect it, making the sidewalk even narrower.

Huy, who has a shop selling computers and phone components there, says: "The work has been finished but the construction is still here. My business has been greatly affected as my customers have no space to park their vehicles and so they just leave."

Those who need to visit the shops along the construction site have to park their motorbikes outside it and walk.

The city Department of Transport has banned cars from Luong The Vinh Street.