Underground carpraks see light of day

According to Le Tuan, president of Investment Development for Underground Space Corporation (IUS), the company would break ground for District 1’s Le Van Tam Park underground parking site on August 8.

Meanwhile, Hanoi-based Dong Duong Company Limited also planned to bring on the construction of its long-delayed underground parking site at District 1’s Trong Dong outdoor stage in September.

The city now has four feasible downtown underground parking projects with only two having been licenced, while the other two at Hoa Lu Stadium and Tao Dan Park have been asked to speed-up investment procedures by the Department of Transport.

“We have recently signed a build-operate-transfer contract for the parking lot construction with the city government and will ask for construction permits after the ground-breaking ceremony,” Tuan told VIR.

The company will operate the car park for 50 years and is expected to start the project’s construction within two months after the ground-breaking ceremony. With total investment capital of $100 million, the parking site will go into operation within 30 months.

It will have two separate sections. One section will include five underground basements with a total area of 72,300 square metres for parking 2,025 motorbikes, 1,250 cars and 28 buses and trucks. The other section will have three underground basements with a total area close to 31,000sqm to accommodate commercial and other service facilities.

IUS gained its investment licence from the Ministry of Planning and Investment in August last year and has postponed its ground-breaking deadlines twice in late 2009 and in March, 2010.

These above projects are among the city’s many planned underground parking lots initiated in 2005, which include Chi Lang park, Hoa Lu stadium, Lam Son square, Bach Tung Diep park, 116 Nguyen Du street site and a site on corner of District 1’s Nguyen Hue and Bach Dang streets.

However, there is only one project in operation so far at Chi Lang park developed by Vincom to serve for Vincom Centre building, while the other three projects at Lam Son square, Bach Tung Diep park, 116 Nguyen Du street site and a site on corner of District 1’s Nguyen Hue and Bach Dang streets have been all cancelled.