Hanoi spends over US$31mn on yearly plant pruning

Trimming grass and flowers at public gardens across the Vietnamese capital costs a great deal of money from the local budget on a yearly basis, Nguyen Duc Chung, chairman of the People’s Committee, said at a recent meeting. 

“It would probably startle everyone to know that the pruning of grass and trees along a 24-kilometer section on Thang Long Avenue costs around VND53 billion [US$2.37 million] a year,” Chung stated. “This is unacceptable!”

He affirmed that in order to prevent wastefulness, the activity would be halted and the trimming work would only continue at gardens along the Hoan Kiem Lake and a few other major sites.

Regarding the growing of green trees across the northern hub, the chairman said that nearly VND40 billion (US$1.79 million) has been provided for the cause since the beginning of this year.

Several issues have emerged as the fund was taken from the municipal coffers, resulting in tree-planting businesses only focusing on quantity instead of quality, Chung noted.

He added that a total of 24 firms had been tasked with planting 6,000 new trees in the capital city, but many problems have begun to be noticed.

Local residents have reported some cases in which trees along the streets were uprooted after only a short time of being planted, Trung elaborated, believing that such plants would die sooner or later due to improper care by those firms concerned.

According to the official, the People’s Committee has decided to restructure the Hanoi Green Trees-Park Limited Company, downsizing it from 21 to only six subsidiaries.

The company will be charged with planting green trees, along with pruning grass and flowers, in the city for better management, Chairman Chung asserted.