Hanoi is aiming to create around 1,500 new parking spaces over the next seven years to help deal with overcrowding at the city’s existing parking lots.
According to Tuoi Tre, the existing facilities can only serve 10% of demand from Hanoians. The capital currently has just 590 parking venues, while there are 5.8 million vehicles on the roads, including 480,000 cars.
The project’s initial phase, which will run from now until 2025, will cost VND29.87 trillion (US$1.27 billion) and include the construction of 204 downtown parking lots. Five bus stations will also be created at a cost of VND2.3 trillion (US$98 million). Once completed, around 66% of the city’s parking demand will be met.
The Department of Transport has estimated that there will be over six million motorbikes and nearly one million cars on its roads by 2020. Last month, it was estimated that traffic congestion costs Hanoi US$1.2 billion per year.
Hanoi has been trying to find ways to deal with its increasing traffic woes for a number of years now, including introducing bus rapid transit routes and the ongoing development of a metro system. A few weeks ago, city authorities also proposed introducing congestion charges in traffic-clogged central districts.
