Helipads to adorn high-rise rooftops of Ho Chi Minh City vista?

“We know that a helipad is good for emergency rescue, however, in order to build a helipad on a building, there are many procedures and conditions for developers to meet which will pose a great deal of difficulties,” a source from a real estate company in Ho Chi Minh City told VIR.

Ho Chi Minh City would equip every building higher than 20 storeys with helipads

In principle, the construction of any type of landing space for aircrafts, even helipads, must be approved by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) with consultation from the Ministry of Construction, the Ministry of Transport, and the provincial administration, according to experts.

Moreover, the detailed design of the project is to be approved by the Chief of Staff of the People’s Army of Vietnam (PAV). After construction is finished, the developer must submit the relevant documents to the General Staff of PAV for helicopters to be allowed to land and take off from the helipad.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam and MoD are also required to provide consultation on such projects.

This is not the first time that Ho Chi Minh City authorities have tabled this requirement. However after the recent fire at the Carina Plaza residential building, which brought death to 13 and injured nearly 100, this requirement reappeared in a directive to increase awareness and activities of both buildings’ developers and residents on fire prevention.

In the beginning of 2017, the city authorities had examined several buildings higher than 20 storeys to see if any of them could accommodate a helipad. While hundreds of buildings in the city satisfy the height requirement, not all are designed to withstand helicopters.

In Ho Chi Minh City, there are 10 helipads located on the top of a building, including Diamond Plaza, Times Square, and Bitexco Tower. However none of them have been used yet.

According to Circular 06 put into force on January 1, 2016 released by the Ministry of Public Security, major cities and the National Emergency Centre for Fire Prevention and Disaster will be equipped with a maximum of two helicopters for fire prevention and rescue and two more planes for fire rescue, including facilities and human staff. These plans, however, have not been implemented for various reasons.