Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has asked the People’s Committee of Hanoi to exert caution while planning the renovation of the Hanoi railway station.

A graphic representation of what the Hanoi railway station will look like after being upgraded. 

He said the construction must ensure sustainable development.

The Hanoi People’s Committee has approved a project to upgrade the capital’s old railway station and surrounding areas into a Japanese-style, modern urban depot surrounded by buildings of up to 70 stories. The project would be carried out in stages, to be completed by 2035.

The plan calls for six zones of high-rise buildings between 40 and 70 storeys for financial and media purposes, a railway station, and three areas of low-rise buildings with a park, international trade zone and a new lifestyle zone.

The project will cover a total area of 98ha in the districts of Dong Da, Hoan Kiem, Ba Dinh and Hai Ba Trung. The total investment capital is estimated at VNĐ 23.8 trillion (US$1.01 trillion).

The project report was prepared by the city’s Department of Planning and Architecture in consultation with Japan’s Nikken Sekkei Civil Engineering Ltd (NSC). 

However, the plan has generated opposition from architectural experts, who argue that it would disrupt the city’s planning, affect historical monuments nearby, greatly increase population density and worsen traffic.

The committee is collecting opinions from ministries and sectors before proposing it to the government. 

VNS