VietNamNet Bridge – Ha Noi authorities will soon carry out a VND90 billion (US$4.3 million) project to build an underground pedestrian passageway that would link the suburbs with the city centre.

The location where Ha Noi plans to build the underground pedestrian passageway — Photo: VNN

Deputy Chairman of Ha Noi People's Committee Nguyen Quoc Hung recently granted authority to the Director of the Ministry of Transport to ratify the construction project by November this year.

According to the plan which was announced in 2014, the Ha Noi People's Committee will build a passageway to connect Chuong Duong Do and Tran Nguyen Han streets. The passageway aims to ensure traveller safety and reduce congestion when pedestrians cross the streets.

Hung asked the People's Committee of Hoan Kiem District to elicit the local community's opinions about the city's planning of the red boundary line of the Chuong Duong Do route, as soon as possible. The red boundary line should be ratified before October 15.

The project will be carried out from the city's budget, which is 70 per cent of the total cost, with the remaining 30 per cent coming from the budget of the People's Committee of Hoan Kiem district.

The tenure to carry out the passageway project will be decided soon.

The construction project has created a controversy among the capital's inhabitants. Some believe that an underground passage is the most reasonable solution, considering the current conditions of the city, as the urban plan in 1992 already stated that Ha Noi must build road junctions to connect the inner city with the suburbs.

However, many people think that to realise the plan, authorities must not be too hasty, and take into account all possible factors, such as geological conditions and the rising sea level which could lead to serious flooding.

Such an underground project requires scrutiny, especially when it comes to floods and climate change.

Some say this plan is not necessary and is difficult to carry out properly now because of the city's limited financial and technological capacity to deal with floods.

VNS