President Tô Lâm flaunts a 92% public approval rate to expedite a construction project at Hoàn Kiếm Lake, despite the controversies surrounding the consultation process.
The Latest: On Sept. 27, at a meeting with voters from several Hà Nội wards, President Tô Lâm announced that a report on public consultation results indicated that 92% of residents supported proposed revisions to parts of the Hồ Gươm or Hoàn Kiếm Lake plan.
The Details: Highlighting the overwhelmingly high reported approval rate, Tô Lâm urged immediate action on the development.
- “Public support for the Hoàn Kiếm Lake plan is very high. With support like this, failing to move quickly would betray the public’s trust,” Tô Lâm said.
- Discussing projects underway in Hà Nội, he added: “People used to say you can’t rush Hà Nội, but now they’ve forgotten that notion.”
The Background: The Hoàn Kiếm Lake plan is part of Hà Nội’s broader 100-year planning vision, launched by the city’s People’s Committee in January 2026.
- Despite the plan being announced earlier in the year, the detailed proposal was only released for public consultation by Hoàn Kiếm and Cửa Nam Wards on Sept. 7.
- The two wards subsequently conducted what was described as a 15-day public consultation during the time period between Sept. 9 and 26.
Under the plan, Hà Nội authorities want to build a 36-meter-tall structure called “Khải Hoàn Môn”—a triumphal arch—north of Hoàn Kiếm Lake, as part of a project covering roughly 66 hectares.
- Construction of this monument would require demolishing several major buildings, including the headquarters of Hà Nội’s People’s Committee and People’s Council.
Since its release, the Hồ Gươm plan has drawn opposition from both experts and residents; how the two wards collected and tallied residents’ feedback remains unclear.
Hoàng Nam wrote this news article in Vietnamese and published it in Luật Khoa Magazine on September 28, 2026. The Vietnamese Magazine translated it into English.
