Hanoi is planning to adopt smarter traffic systems and introduce measures to have cleaner streets, Mr. Nguyen Duc Chung, Chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee, said at his meeting with the City's voters on August 15.

Long Bien Bridge, Hanoi

The city will review its parking and reallocate areas if necessary then publicly announce any changes. In certain narrow streets such as Tran Quoc Toan and Nguyen Gia Thieu in Hoan Kiem district the city has asked the Hanoi Department of Transport to permit parking on one side of the street only.

On odd-numbered days, Mr. Chung suggested, vehicles should only be able to be parked on the side of the street with odd numbers, and on even days on the other side of the street. This method is used in many countries, he said, and has been piloted on Da Tuong Street in Hoan Kiem district.

The city also aims to have five underground parking stations, in August Revolution Square in the front of the Hanoi Opera House, Thong Nhat Park in Hai Ba Trung district, Thu Le Park in Ba Dinh district, Thanh Nhan Park in Hai Ba Trung district, and Quan Ngua Stadium in Ba Dinh district. Mr. Chung revealed that Hanoi has engaged a Japanese partner to plan the parking stations.

To build a smart city, Hanoi will reduce entry by private vehicle to the city center and improve its traffic light systems.

It also aims to be a greener city. Mr. Chung estimates that every year the city spends about VND3 trillion ($134.5 million) on collecting and transporting garbage. Technology will therefore be used to increase labor productivity and cut spending.

He is considering two different times each day for garbage collection: either from 5pm to 7pm for from 8pm to 10pm. The latter is preferred as it would reduce the time scavengers are able to search through the garbage.

Responding to comments that the city only places garbage bins along tourism streets and people in other streets can only dump their garbage in the gutter, Mr. Chung said that he wants all the garbage bins to be identical and a design has already been finalized and the bins will be introduced shortly.

Sanitation work in each district will be assigned to particular companies to avoid overlaps in cleaning activities, as currently happens. Ninety-five per cent of the city’s garbage is buried, he said, and from next year garbage processing will change.

He also mentioned certain solutions at the meeting to improve tourism, such as planting more trees as well as efforts to keep the city cleaner. The city has been given 28,000 trees, 10,000 of which came from one company. 

He also targets building more than 20,000 new hotel rooms and providing free wi-fi at certain tourism destinations, such as the Old Quarter, around the Temple of Literature, and in traditional trade villages. 

VN Economic Times