House blocks street after family refuses relocation plan

A two-story house is blocking a street in Dong Trieu Town, Quang Ninh Province, after its owner refused to move out of the way of a new road construction project.

A house occupies two thirds of the road in Quang Ninh Province, leaving just enough space for a car to pass. Photo by VnExpress/Le Tan

In 2021, Dong Trieu authorities in the northern province announced they would resettle 151 families to build a road connecting a residential area with another street.

Nguyen Thi Luyen’s home was on the list of houses slated for demolition, and her family was to be relocated in line with the plan.

The road has now been finished. It stretches 2.3 kilometers long and seven meters wide, but a section 14 meters long has been left uncompleted as Luyen’s house still stands in the way.

The house occupies two-thirds of the road, leaving a space of just two meters wide for traffic.

(The house of Nguyen Thi Luyen stands in the middle of a road in Dong Trieu Town in Quang Ninh Province, March 2023. Video by VnExpress/Le Tan)

A compensation plan approved by Dong Trieu in 2021 said Luyen’s family would be compensated VND4 billion (US$169,558) and relocated to a plot on National Highway 1.

However, the plan was later changed to have the family relocated to another plot far away from major streets.

Luyen refused the new offer and requested another plot on the new road. That plot costs VND14 million (US$592.87) per square meter, while Luyen was compensated VND8.7 million per square meter of her house.

"It means Luyen’s family must pay the difference, but they disagreed. Authorities, meanwhile, do not have any grounds to force them to leave," said Le Van Do, deputy chairman of Dong Trieu Town.

Luyen, 65, said her family of 11 members is aware of the danger of living in a house in the middle of the street.

"We do want to relocate, but we’re not satisfied with the compensation offered by the authorities."

Dong Trieu Town will continue to negotiate with Luyen’s family to come up with a solution to the problem.

Ref: House blocks street after family refuses relocation plan ( vnexpress)