An underground car parking lot in Hanoi (Photo: thethaovanhoa.vn)
Hanoi (VNA) - A regulation recentlyissued by the Hanoi People’s Committee requires basements be part of newconstruction projects in the inner city.
The severe shortage of parking space in thecapital is behind the regulation, Hanoi Moi (New Hanoi) newspaper reported.
Some 590 parking lots with total area of 38.9haare currently in use in the central areas of the city, meeting only 8-10 percentof parking demand in these areas, according to the city’s statistics. Most ofthe parking lots are filled beyond capacity.
Due to limited public land, public parking lotsthroughout the city only serve 66 percent of the city’s total parking demand,precipitating the need for new constructions to have parking basements.
The regulation provides specific guidance on thesize of the basements.
It applies to constructions that are going toget built within the area from Ring Road 2 to the city centre, within the areafrom Ring Road 2 to Ring Road 4, as well as in satellite and eco-urban areas.
Per the regulation, all types of housing,administrative constructions, and urban service constructions such as officebuildings, hotels, trade centres, hospitals, schools, and sports and recreationcentres will have to provide basements for motorbike parking.
Meanwhile, some constructions will not beallowed to provide car parking, including centres for the elderly and peoplewith disabilities, hospitals, boarding school dorms, and schools from nurseryand kindergarten to high school and vocational school.
The basements should be not more than fivelevels, while their area should be equal to the construction at minimum, andshould not cross the construction boundary.
This is not the first time building basements hasbeen required, Tien Phong (Vanguard)reported.
In April last year, the city’s Department ofArchitecture and Planning issued an announcement requesting all high risebuildings have at least three levels of basements.
It was then withdrawn after an objection fromthe National Real Estate Association (VNREA), which argued that such arequirement was contrary to pre-existing construction regulations.
The regulation also required constructioninvestors to repeat various administrative procedures, increasing costs andtime, according to VNREA.-VNA
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An underground car parking lot in Hanoi (Photo: thethaovanhoa.vn) 
