Traffic on the lake-side streets of Đinh Tiên Hoàng, Lê Thái Tổ, Cầu Gỗ, Hàng Gai and Hàng Đào is expected to be affected by the demolition of the ‘Hàm Cá Mập’ building. — VNA/VNS Photo Lê Đông

HÀ NỘI — The capital city of Hà Nội will rearrange bus routes and plans for a metro station in the Đông Kinh–Nghĩa Thục Square next to the iconic Hoàn Kiếm Lake.

The ‘Hàm Cá Mập’ (Shark Jaw) building, a landmark in this area, is set to be demolished by April 30 this year to expand the public space.

Traffic on the streets of Đinh Tiên Hoàng, Lê Thái Tổ, Cầu Gỗ, Hàng Gai and Hàng Đào is expected to be affected by the demolition. Certain vehicles will be restricted from entering the area to ensure safety.

The 15 bus routes that must be rerouted include the airport express bus 86 and bus routes No 01, 02, 08A, 09, 14, 31, 34, 36, 40, 49 and E07.

A coordination team from the city’s police and construction department will be in charge of rearranging the traffic flows during the construction.

New metro line

Station C9 of Hà Nội’s metro line No 2 (Nam Thăng Long–Trần Hưng Đạo) is planned to be built underground along Đinh Tiên Hoàng Street, under the current offices of Hà Nội Power Corporation, Northern Power Corporation and Hà Nội City People’s Committee. 

This urban railway project was granted the city’s approval for investment in 2008. The total length was planned at 11.5km, with three elevated and seven underground stations. 

The underground station C9, and the entire metro line, are expected to be constructed following the transit-oriented development (TOD) model to increase the public space around Hoàn Kiếm Lake and the city’s overall infrastructure.

Hoàn Kiếm District authorities have announced that dozens of households, state agencies and organisations in the area have to relocate to make room for the community space. — VNS