HCMC – The Investment and Development for Underground Space Corporation (IUS) has said it will cut down 27 large trees, and remove and transplant 362 other trees in Le Van Tam Park in downtown HCMC to build the city’s first underground car park.
IUS will also make the pavements narrower around the park, bordered by Vo Thi Sau, Dien Bien Phu and Hai Ba Trung streets, to make the road wider, Le Tuan, president and CEO of IUS said at a press briefing on Wednesday.
The city government has already approved the reduced pavement width to reduce traffic congestion when the parking lot opens at the end of 2013, he said.
IUS called on Wednesday’s press conference after local newspapers reported two weeks ago that IUS had started construction without a permit or legal land-use procedures.
Tuan said on Wednesday that IUS still hadn’t received the permit from the city’s Department of Construction because they had yet to agree on land use procedures. “We expect to have a construction permit in five or six months, then we will officially start construction of the project,” said the CEO. “The biggest difficulty now is to ascertain how much land would be exempt from land use taxes.”
The US$110 million parking lot will be able to accommodate over 2,000 motorbikes, 1,250 cars and 28 buses and trucks in five underground storeys. The corporation said the fees would be a maximum VND7,000 for motorbikes and VND80,000 for cars.
The Daily reported two weeks ago the city authorities ruled that the corporation should place a deposit of VND43 billion at a local bank as a guarantee that it would restore Le Van Tam Park. Tuan admitted on Wednesday that IUS still hadn’t placed the deposit.
He said the corporation has hired a company to relocate and replant the trees. After the corporation completes the construction of the car park, Le Van Tam Park will be renovated according to a new design.
According to the built-operate-transfer contract for the car park signed between IUS and the city government, the corporation will operate the car park within 50 years.
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