Hanoi to start urban railway construction

Construction will begin on Sept. 22 on a pilot urban railway, running from Nhon in Tu Liem District to Hanoi Railway Station, as part of a largest ever public transport project in Hanoi, said Head of the municipal People’s Committee’s Office Nguyen Thinh Thanh.

The municipal People’s Committee requested Tu Liem District to finalize preparations, especially site clearance for the project before Sept. 16.

Under the plan till 2020, Hanoi will have five urban railway routes, linking the inner city with nearby urban centers of Bac Ninh, Vinh Phuc, Hung Yen and Thai Nguyen.

The Nhon-Hanoi Railway Station, the third route of the plan, has a total length of 12 kilometers, connecting the city’s west part to the downtown and the southern part.

The first route will run between Ngoc Hoi, Yen Vien and Nhu Quynh. It will link areas located in the northeast and the south of Hanoi with downtown.

The second route, Noi Bai-downtown-Thuong Dinh, is the backbone of the urban area at the present and in the future. It will connect with the railway route from Cat Linh, Hanoi to Ba La, Ha Dong.

The fourth route will run between Dong Anh, Sai Dong, Vinh Tuy, Thanh Xuan, Tu Liem, Thuong Cat and Me Linh. This route will connect urban development projects.

The fifth route will run between the southern part of West Lake, Ngoc Khanh and Lang-Hoa Lac to connect the downtown with urban areas located along Lang-Hoa Lac corridor.

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Hanoi to start urban railway construction

Construction will begin on Sept. 22 on a pilot urban railway, running
from Nhon in Tu Liem district to Hanoi Railway Station, as part of a
largest ever public transport project in Hanoi, said Head of the
municipal People’s Committee’s Office Nguyen Thinh Thanh.

The municipal People’s Committee requested Tu Liem district to finalise
preparations, especially site clearance for the project before Sept. 16.

Under
the plan till 2020, Hanoi will have five urban railway routes,
linking the inner city with nearby urban centres of Bac Ninh, Vinh Phuc,
Hung Yen and Thai Nguyen.

The Nhon-Hanoi Railway Station, the
third route of the plan, has a total length of 12km, connecting the
city’s west part to the downtown and the southern part.

The first
route will run between Ngoc Hoi, Yen Vien and Nhu Quynh. It will link
areas located in the northeast and the south of Hanoi with downtown.

The second route, Noi Bai-downtown-Thuong Dinh,
is the backbone of the urban area at the present and in the future. It
will connect with the railway route from Cat Linh, Hanoi to Ba La,
Ha Dong.

The fourth route will run between Dong
Anh, Sai Dong, Vinh Tuy, Thanh Xuan, Tu Liem, Thuong Cat and Me Linh.
This route will connect urban development projects.

The fifth route will run between the southern part of West Lake ,
Ngoc Khanh and Lang-Hoa Lac to connect the downtown with urban areas
located along Lang-Hoa Lac corridor./.

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Vina Projects boosts urban planning services

Vina Projects CEO and GD Paul James (L) and his assistant James Chew (2nd, L) present a model of Thu Thiem New Urban Area in HCMC to local reporters during the press conference on Tuesday - Photo: Kinh Luan

HCMC – Vina Projects is looking to further penetrate the fast growing Vietnamese market through a range of services, especially consultancy on urban planning.

Vina Projects is a joint venture between VinaCapital with a 50% stake and inProjects Group, a Hong Kong provider of services for the retail, leisure and hospitality sectors.The CEO and general manager of Vina Projects, Paul James, told reporters on Tuesday that his company provides seven core services including urban planning, retail tenant coordination, project consultancy /hospitality, and management for project, construction, facilities and program.

Vietnam is urbanizing at a fast rate which may reach 45% in 2020 from 28% in 1999, he said. “Professional urban planning services are needed to ensure that new urban areas are planned properly.”

Vina Projects, which got an investment license in December last year, has 20 contracts for project /construction management, 10 for urban planning, and one for facility management.

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Land reserve will help douse property fevers: experts

HANOI – Experts and officials at a seminar on urban development in Hanoi on Saturday called for a new approach to urbanization management in the capital city by increasing land reserves to choke off property fevers there.

Pham Sy Liem, director of the Urban Research and Infrastructure Development Institute, remarked that land fevers often took place soon after any urban planning schemes were announced. Recent fevers in new urban areas of Duong Noi, An Khanh, and even in the farming area of Ba Vi indicated that current urban land management has failed, he said.

“Therefore, to fight land manipulators and to make the most from land for development, urban administrators need to build up land reserves right at the time they make any urban planning scheme,” Liem told the seminar.

He asserted that land reserves would provide a strong vehicle for the urban administrator to manage the property market in urban areas, adding “it is high time the country formulate a complete institutional mechanism on land reserves.”

The new mechanism, according to Liem, will help prevent the situation of land prices being chased up year after year while people affected by development projects are still unhappy with the rising compensations.

Duong Duc Tuan, deputy director of Hanoi City’s Department of Planning and Architecture, agreed to Liem’s viewpoint, saying land reserves were the basic resource for urban development in the capital city.

Those areas with ample land reserves would have better conditions for infrastructure development, especially for projects under the forms of Build-Transfer and Build-Operate-Transfer forms, he said.

Dang Hung Vo, former Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, stressed the need to improve land management to avoid corruption in the sector.

“We must look for strong methods to manage land under planning schemes, otherwise some people will gain hefty profits from land manipulation while others will suffer when their land is revoked for development projects,” Vo said.

He added that urban land must be seen as capital resources, so a right approach to urban planning would be the decisive factor to determine urban development.

Liem of the Urban Research and Infrastructure Development Institute said that the development of land reserves would also help collect most benefits from land for the State budget.

Under the master plan on urban development between now and 2025 with a vision to 2050 that was approved by the Prime Minister last year, there should have some 910 urban towns and cities in the country by 2020. The population in cities should reach 44 million, or 45% of the country’s population by then.

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Work starts on Ocean Window development

KHANH HOA — Eurowindow Nha Trang Investment and Tourism Joint Stock Co broke ground on the Ocean Window Spa and Resort on Wednesday. The 34.2-ha project has VND1 trillion (US$51.28 million) in investment capital. It will include a five-star hotel, spa, restaurant and bar, shopping centre, events' centre, sports centre and beaches. The resort, in central Khanh Hoa Province, is expected open for business in 2013.

New urban area projects invested

HA NOI — Housing and Urban Development Holdings (HUD) has made plans to invest in four new urban area projects in the capital. The projects include expansion of the Nam An Khanh new urban project, a new urban project around Linh Dam Lake, the Mai Trai - Nghia Phu new urban project, and the 55ha Thanh Lam - Dai Thinh 2 project.

Courtyard's second phase begins

HCM CITY — Sai Gon-Ham Tan Tourism Corporation began the second phase of its Courtyard project for Marriott – Ham Tan. Sai Gon Invest Group has invested VND81 billion (US$4.2 million) in the project. The hotel will occupy a 6ha area and include a restaurant, an entertainment area, a swimming pool, a kids' club, and a spa and massage parlour. It is slated for completion in 2012. — VNS

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