The decision was announced after a meeting of the National Examination Council of the Ha Noi Master Plan by 2030 with a vision to 2050.
Chairman of the committee Nguyen The Thao said that after carefully considering the project, the committee agreed that there was a need to build the axis to fulfil the need for a link between the administrative centre in Ba Dinh to Ho Tay District in the north.
The committee suggested that the highway end at Dong Mo Lake at the foot of Mount Ba Vi, but said that initially, the city should only build one section of the highway from ringroad No 3 to ringroad No 4.
Just three weeks ago, the capital's People's Committee asked the Government to reconsider a plan to move the national administrative precinct to Ba Vi District, and thus negate the construction of the Thang Long axis, saying that it was unnecessary. The committee also said that the road would require the relocation of about 300,000 residents.
The Ministry of Construction, however, insited that the road was necessary.
Deputy Minister of Construction Nguyen Dinh Toan said that the Thang Long axis would have three functions. First, it would help ease traffic pressure in western parts of the city including the Xuan Mai, Hoa Lac and Son Tay urban areas.
Secondly, beneath the axis, a water pipeline from the Da River would supply clean water to city residents and finally, the axis was likely to attract investment in cultural and entertainment centres.
This led to a lot of opposition from experts.
The Viet Nam Union of Science and Technology Association earlier this month expressed its disagreement over the issue. It said that the proposal to construct the highway lacked a scientific basis, especially considering that engineers in the capital were currently focused on other projects.
Experts added that it would be a waste of land and not suitable for traffic needs.
The Viet Nam Architects' Association said that if the administrative centre was not moved to Ba Vi District, a highway linking West Lake and Ba Vi District would be of no use to socio-economic development.
Commenting on the surprise move by the People's Committee, resident Nguyen Duy Duong said that the public would lose faith in city leaders if they continued to change their minds.
Ha Hai, another resident, could not understand why the matter had not been raised for public opinion. —VNS
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