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Jul 05, 2019 / 05:26

Hanoi suspends controversial underground parking project

The decision on halting the construction of the underground parking will be notified to the local residents.

The Hanoi People's Committee has made an official announcement on canceling the underground parking project in Cau Giay park.

“To reset the order and reach consensus in building the underground parking lot, the Hanoi People’s Committee requests the developer to temporarily halt the study of the project,” said the communique. 
 
Residents hang banners protesting the underground parking project in Cau Giay park on May 8. Photo V.H
Residents hang banners protesting the underground parking project in Cau Giay park on May 8. Photo V.H
Before the move, residents near the park hung banners and sent a letter to the Hanoi People's Committee to protest the project.

In early June, Chairman of the Hanoi People's Committee Nguyen Duc Chung chaired the meeting to discuss the underground parking with the participation of the city’s five vice chairmen, leaders of relevant departments and agencies and Tay Ho Urban Development and Investment Joint Stock Company, which is the investor of the project.

At the meeting, based on the proposal of the Department of Planning and Investment, the Hanoi People's Committee allowed the investor to study and build an underground parking at a northern part of Cau Giay park only if the local people agreed to it.

However, the developer failed to convince the local residents as the design plans of the park and other details were deemed insufficient. The local people filed complaint to the Vietnamese government. After that, Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh asked the Hanoi People’s Committee to settle the complaints and report the outcome to him. 

The decision on halting the construction of the underground parking will be notified to the local residents. 

In August 2018, Tay Ho Urban Development and Investment Joint Stock Company submitted a proposal to Hanoi’s authority on building an underground parking able to house 820 cars. The underground parking lot lies on an area of about 14,500m2, with a total investment of about VND565 billion (US$24.3 million).

In order to ensure the project’s feasibility, the Hanoi Department of Planning and Architecture requires this company to consult with Cau Giay district People's Committee, the district’s residents and the municipal Department of Construction.

The project, however, sparked protest of local residents.