HÀ NỘI — The proposal to build high-rise buildings around the Hà Nội Railway Station will have major impacts on the city’s inner areas, the Ministry of Construction (MOC) has said.

The construction ministry recently responded to a proposal to upgrade the capital’s old railway station and its surrounding areas.

Put forward by a Japanese company and approved by Hà Nội People’s Committee in September, the plan aims to upgrade the areas into a Japanese-style modern urban depot.

It calls for six zones of high-rise buildings of between 40-70 storeys (about 200 metres) for financial and media purposes, a railway station and three areas of low-rise buildings with a park, international trade zone and a lifestyle zone.

The proposal will have major impacts on the area and the city’s historical inner areas in terms of architecture, urban landscape and transport, the MOC said.

Should the proposal be implemented, the area surrounding the old station will see its population rise an estimated 10 per cent to 44,000 people from the current 40,300, according to the MOC. This could overwhelm the area’s infrastructure and transport system.

The construction of commercial and trade centres and entertainment facilities, per the proposal, will also attract many tourists, the MOC said.

The proposal does not comply with the master plan for the construction of the capital city until 2030 that was approved by then Prime Minister Nguyễn Tấn Dũng in 2011, which regulates that no high-rise buildings be built in the city’s inner areas to preserve its current conditions, the MOC added.

The proposal should provide more careful research on the population of areas surrounding the station and related factors, the MOC said.

Specifically, it should provide predictions of the demand for each type of transportation in the area, including roads and metro lines, with a focus on the number of passengers on metro line No 1 (from Ngọc Hồi Commune to Yên Viên Town) and No 3 (from Nhổn Street to the Hà Nội Railway Station).

It should provide connection solutions between the entrances and exits of underground parking lots and the area’s road network to avoid traffic congestion.

It should elaborate on land use planning and supplies of technical infrastructure such as electricity, water and communication equipment for the areas, the MOC said.

Covering 98ha in Đống Đa, Hoàn Kiếm, Ba Đình and Hai Bà Trưng districts, the plan is expected to be completed by 2035.

It is estimated to cost a total of VNĐ23.8 million (US$1.03 billion), to be prepared by the Hà Nội Department of Planning and Architecture in consultation with the Japan-based Nikken Sekkei Civil Engineering Co Ltd. — VNS