Bui Xuan Cuong, deputy director of the HCMC Department of Transport, told the Daily yesterday that the department was currently looking for suitable sites which did not affect the city’s planning and cause traffic congestions. Besides, the construction of parking lots has to meet the parking demand of each district, he added.

Previously, Transport and Communication Development Investment Corporation (Tracodi) proposed the city's government build five parking lots at September 23 Park, Quach Thi Trang Roundabout, Thu Thiem Ferry Terminal, the corner between Ton Duc Thang and Ngo Van Nam streets and the end of Nguyen Hue Street near the Saigon River.

However, the proposal has yet to be approved as these five places have been planned for planting trees and building metro stations.

Phan Thanh Nam, director of Tracodi, said multi-storey parking lots had the advantage of rapid erection, around four to six months, and it was easy to construct a parking lot by assembling steel structures.

Besides, the investment capital needed for this kind of parking lot accounts for only one-third of that for underground car parks.

According to latest statistics of the HCMC Department of Transport, there are currently 2,389 parking sites citywide, with 303 of them unlicensed and 1,437 located on the sidewalks.

Source: The Saigon Times Daily