Car Parking - Big Problems in Major Cities

Stand-still traffic during rush hour has become more common in such major cities as Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. What are measures for settling the issue?

 

A foreign businessman said that ten years ago when he went to Vietnam what impressed him most were streets full of bicycles in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. Ten years later, when he went back to Vietnam, streets were seen full of motorbikes and cars of famous brands in the world. According to reports by the Hanoi Traffic Police, the city has 157,000 cars with a total area of 26 hectares for car parks. This figure is equal just 0.45 per cent of the city's area and is too small for car parks, which occupy between four and five per cent of a major city's area.

 

Like Hanoi, the number of cars in Ho Chi Minh City has seen a rapid increase from 131,000 in late 2000, to 276,000 in late 2005. Each month, the city has 3,000 more cars on average. Traffic in major cities has become an urgent issue. However, there are still shortcomings in the city's infrastructure facilities as land fund for traffic accounts between four and 12 per cent. In some districts, the figure is just one per cent. In fact, the figure should be between 20 and 25 per cent. Areas for car parks occupy just 0.1 per cent, equal to one fortieth of the demand.

 

Many people say that the imposition of high import tax and the increase of initial costs to reduce the number of cars are ineffective. Instead, the Government should promote its management of cars by imposing more consumption tax or prices of services for cars. Furthermore, the State should tighten the management of procedures and car use right.

 

However, these measures may help reduce the increase in the number of cars. The problem is a lack of land for car parks. Therefore, it is necessary to call for more investors to developing car parks. As charge of between VND 5,000 and 7,000 for keeping a car for two hours is too low, investors do not want to invest in car park projects because of their long payback period.

 

Bui Xuan Dung, chief executive of the Hanoi Transportation Corporation, said that Hanoi and other major cities should increase car parking charges in downtown areas, depending on parking time. Charges in non-downtown areas should be lower. Therefore, car users may have their car parked in non-downtown areas and use public transport means to reach downtown areas. This may help reduce standstill traffic in downtown areas. At the same time, high charges may attract investors from various economic sectors to join the building of car parks. However, the building of underground or multi-storey car parks is a long-term solution. Car parks are now planned under parks in the city's downtown areas, such Chi Lang and Thong Nhat.

 

In Ho Chi Minh City, in recent years, car parks have been built in some parts of the city's downtown. However, these parks can meet only 50 per cent of the demand. An increasingly high demand for car parks has attracted many investors. In Ho Chi Minh City, in the last three years, some investors thought of building underground car parks. Some projects are to be carried out, such as car parks of the Le Van Tam and Tao Dan parks, and the Lam Son work after the city's Opera House, and the car park at 1 Le Thach, Ward 12, District Four.

 

According to the IUS project's developers, the Underground Space Investment and Development Company, the development of infrastructure facilities within the project area proved an important role of car parks in the city's traffic.

 

The Dong Duong Corporation of Hanoi is preparing for the building of an underground car park near the Lam Son work, District 1, which is capable of keeping 192 cars. Le Viet Hai, general director of he Hoa Binh Construction and Housing Development Joint stock Company, said that an underground car park would be built under the Chi Lang park, District 1, with seven storeys, which could keep 400 motorbikes and 200 cars, plus three storeys for trade services. The car park will use an automated car arranging system. The project, valued at US$9.7 million, will start in July 2006 and complete in July 2007.