>> Hanoi toughens up on parking
The price of parking in Hanoi has increased sharply because of steep rises in the number of cars, and a shortage of parking lots.
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| Chronically-packed parking lot |
Buying a car is far from easy, but finding a place to keep it can be just as hard.
One high-end apartment building in Tay Ho district has been selling parking spaces for between VND751 million (USD37,550) and VND2.145 billion (USD107,250). These prices are comparable to the cost of a luxury vehicle. Still, if car owners in the area find these prices too high, the alternative is to rent a space, which could cost up to VND3 million (USD150) per month.
The phenomenon is not restricted to Tay Ho, but is reflective of the situation throughout the city. A parking space at building No. 93 Lo Duc Street, for example, carries a price tag of about VND500 million (USD25,000).
The fees being charged in parking lots across the city are reported to be much higher than price restrictions set by the Government, which increase depending on the vehicle’s size and capacity for occupants. According to the rules, the monthly parking fee for vehicles with nine seats or less should be no higher than VND500,000 (USD25).
However, Higher prices continue to be charged, however, despite the fact that Government’s price regulations have been raised to reflect soaring demand for parking in the face of inadequate supply.
“I have to pay a guard at a nearby primary school VND800,000 (USD40) per month to park my car. Without this option, I wouldn’t be able to afford the nightly parking fees of between VND30,000 (USD1.5) and VND50,000 (USD2.5),” says Trung Kien, a driver of a company in Tay Ho district.
Despite such exorbitant prices, many car owners are happy to find a place to park at all. Le Hong Quang from Cau Giay district has spent a whole day since he bought his brand new car looking for a place to park it, but has yet to succeed. “Even if I find a place that is far from my home, I’ll be forced to take it. I need long-term parking,” he said.
The number of automobiles in the capital had reached 310,000 by April of last year, according to the municipal Department of Traffic Police. Compounding the problem, there are an extra 50,000 passenger vehicles on the road from places outside the city. On average, the city’s police license an additional 4,000 new automobiles per month.
In the meantime, Hanoi only has around 960 parking lots scattered across ten districts. Of these, only 350 are car parks, which are only able to accommodate around 10,000 vehicles in total. The result is a large number of cars and other vehicles that park in unofficial places such as schools, hospitals and parks or even in the roads, triggering traffic jams.
Seeing the demand, Hanoi Parking Place Explorer Company is planning construction of a two-storey parking facility. They are estimating prices for one parking space to be around VND1.5 million (USD75) per month.
The municipal Department of Transport and the Transport Development and Strategy Institute also have plans in the works to build new car parks along several streets, including Thai Ha, Nguyen Khanh Toan and Nghia Do. The new car parks will be built on top of sewage systems which must be built first.