More of Saigon’s open spaces are slowly giving in to developmental pressure: there’s a high chance that District 1’s Lam Son Square will become a multi-story car park in the near future.
According to Tuoi Tre, the city’s Department of Transport is awaiting the go-ahead from the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee to begin building a parking structure on the empty lot in Lam Son Square. Currently, the space – right behind the Saigon Opera House and in front of Park Hyatt Saigon Hotel – is also being used as a parking area.
The future stacked garage will be 21.8 meters high, spanning an area of 850 square meters. Its nine floors will be able to contain 168 cars, making use of an automated robotic system to get vehicles in and out of their parking spaces. The news source also reports the cost to complete the facility will amount to VND161.2 billion (US$7 million) for 14 months of construction.
The proposed price for parking in the structure will be VND27,000 (US$1.19) per hour, VND468,000 ($20.5) per day, VND11.9 million (US$523.2) per month and VND121.6 million ($5,346) per year.
The contractor for the garage is En-Parking Japan, a smart car park developer, which will undertake the project under the Build-Own-Operate scheme (BOO). A BOO contract means that the organization will build, own and operate the facility with minimal involvement from the government.
While local residents and frequent visitors to the area are warming up to the idea of a parking structure right at their door, the HCMC Department of Planning and Architecture is not happy about the proposal. The agency told Tuoi Tre the location is not suitable for a stacked parking garage and had previously been earmarked for a future green space.
Any Saigoneer knows that finding a parking space in the city’s increasingly congested downtown area is no easy feat, be it for motorbikes or cars. The arrival of Japanese department store Takashimaya has partially eased the parking pressure in the vicinity of Nam Ky Khoi Nghia and Pasteur Street, however city officials are also scrambling to think of new locations to build designated parking structures.
Earlier this year, Tan Son Nhat International Airport unveiled its own five-story parking structure, the biggest of its kind in the city. Saigon authorities have also greenlit an underground parking lot beneath the Saigon Zoo capable of holding up to 3,000 motorbikes and 100 cars.
[Photo via Tuoi Tre]
