Nine-story car park proposed in downtown Saigon

The municipal Department of Transport is seeking approval from the People’s Committee for the construction of the high-rise parking garage on an empty land slot on Lam Son Square Street, situated behind the Municipal Theater in District 1.

The department will work with investors to set up a detailed plan while gathering feedback from relevant agencies before making a report for the local administration.

The project was first mentioned by En-Parking Japan, a company specializing in developing smart car park, which will carry out the construction under the BOO (build, own, operate) contract.

BOO is a model in which an organization builds, owns and operates some facility or structure with some degree of encouragement from the government.

Although the government does not provide direct funding in this model, it may offer other financial incentives such as tax-exempt status.

The parkcade will be 21.8 meters high, equivalent to nine stories, cover an area of 850 square meters, and can accommodate a total of 168 cars.

A robotic technology will be used to automatically arrange the parked automobiles basing on their classification.

With the investment capital of VND161.2 billion (US$7 million), the facility is expected to be completed after 14 months.

Each of the parking spaces has been suggested to cost VND27,000 (US$1.19) per hour, VND468,000 (US$20.5) a day, VND11.9 million (US$523.2) a month, or VND121.6 million (US$5,346) per year.

The plan has been agreed on by the municipal transport department, the People’s Committee in District 1, the Department of Taxation, and the Department of Finance.

Meanwhile, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Planning and Architecture asserted that the construction of the parking lot is not suitable, stating the land slot has already been preserved for a green tree park.

A similar parking garage has also been suggested to be built at the bus station in 23/9 Park, also located in District 1.