HÀ NỘI — The Hà Nội People’s Committee decided to maintain operation of four major bus stations in the inner city: Gia Lâm, Mỹ Đình, Giáp Bát and Nước Ngầm. The city’s Department of Transport had previously planned to switch the stations into car parks and inner-city bus interchanges by 2020.

The switch was part of the department’s draft plan to improve parking lots, bus stations and bus interchanges by 2030 with a view to 2050. Hà Nội has nine inter-province bus stations, covering a total of 17.9 hectares of land. These four are in populated areas, causing traffic pressure in the city centre.

However, according to a latest announcement from the People’s Committee, the stations would temporarily be kept and upgraded, said dantri.com.vn online newspaper reported

In addition, the city plans to build seven more coach stations. Between 2018 and 2025, the city will invest about VNĐ2,300 billion (US$98.6 million) in constructing five inter-provincial coach stations. These include a 10.4-ha Cổ Bi Station in Gia Lâm District, 5.3-ha Đông Anh Station in Đông Anh District, 10-ha Southern station and Nội Bài Bus Station in Sóc Sơn District and Sơn Tây 1. New bus stations in the Belt Road 4 area, are more convenient for passengers to travel inter-province routes and also help ease traffic congestion in the inner city.

In satellite urban areas including Phú Xuyên, Xuân Mai, Hòa Lạc, Sơn Tây and Sóc Sơn, the city plans to build 13 coach stations on 57 hectares of land with a total investment of VNĐ3,254 billion ($139.5 million).

According to the city authorities’ master plan, Hà Nội will have 1,334 public parking projects with a total investment of VNĐ232 trillion ($9.9 billion). — VNS