HÀ NỘI — Hà Nội will have a gigantic underground parking lot in the near future.

The information was released by Nguyễn Đức Chung, from the Hà Nội People’s Committee at a recent sit down with constituents in Hoàn Kiếm District.

Speaking at the event, Chung said that the underground parking lot project will soon be constructed at Quần Ngựa Stadium in Ba Đình District.  

The parking lot will have a capacity of 2,500 cars and 5,000 motorbikes over five floors on an area of 1.8ha. The capital poured into the project is estimated to reach VNĐ2.7 trillion (US$119 million), while the payback period will be around 30 to 35 years.

Beside the tentative parking lot at Quần Ngựa Stadium, Hà Nội’s authorities are collaborating with investors to study the feasibility of building parking lots at other municipal areas, reported Tuổi trẻ (Youth) newspaper.

“In Hoàn Kiếm District, investors are considering constructing parking lots at the Friendship Cultural Palace, in front of Reunification Park and in front of the Hà Nội Opera House. Moreover, the authorities plan to set up many smart parking lots around the city,” Chung said.

“An enterprise has proposed the construction of an underground parking lot near Thủ Lệ Park with a capacity of 1,400 cars and 2,000 motorbikes,” he added.

The meeting also touched upon the city’s severe traffic congestion.

“As the number of vehicles in the city rockets, Hà Nội is now facing the most serious traffic jams in its history. The city is home to about 620,000 cars – not to mention those belonging to the armed forces – and 5.5 million motorbikes,” said Chung.

Therefore, besides calling for investment in underground parking lot projects, Hà Nội authorities have come up with measures for depopulation in the city centre. 

At present, three new urban areas in Hoà Lạc, Sóc Sơn and Sơn Tây have been planned. Meanwhile, the two satellite urban areas of Xuân Mai in the outlying district of Chương Mỹ and Phú Xuyên in districts of Thường Tín and Phú Xuyên will be completed in the near future.

Last April, Hà Nội’s Department of Transport announced a plan to switch four main inner-city bus stations including Gia Lâm in Long Biên District, Mỹ Đình in Nam Từ Liêm District, and Giáp Bát and Nước Ngầm in Hoàng Mai District into parking lots and bus interchanges by 2020.

The bus stations will still serve as places to pick up and drop off passengers, but will gradually be transformed into parking lots. Gia Lâm and Giáp Bát bus stations are planned to be completed in 2020, followed by Mỹ Đình and Nước Ngầm in 2025.

In 2017, nearly 500 illegal parking lots in the city were discovered by the Hà Nội Police. — VNS