It must be said that even though it is a zoning planning, Hanoi railway station functions as a traffic hub for all national railways and urban railways and is located in the central area; therefore, if the zoning planning scheme was approved for execution, it would certainly affect the urban development and transportation of Ha Noi in the short and long term.
What does Hanoi need from this planning scheme? Why is Hanoi railway station proposed to be re-planned? Does Hanoi need real estate or sustainable development?... These are some of the thousands of questions regarding the proposal on re-planning of Hanoi Railway Station raised by the public and experts.
Built over 100 years ago, Hanoi railway station has become not only an important traffic hub of the Capital in particular and the whole country in general but also embraced symbolically historical values.
Therefore, it is not easy to restructure and recreate the space of Hanoi railway station with different capacity, functions, and architecture. At the same time, historical values, architecture, and culture over the last 100 years of Hanoi Railway Station must be assured.
Assoc. Prof. Ph.D. Nguyen Van Huy, Former Director of Vietnam Museum of Ethnology, Cultural Researchers, said that Hanoi railway station was constructed following the French architecture; therefore, the reconstruction of the station must retain the entire architecture.
Besides historical value, the key point is the planning of Hanoi railway station in the medium and long-term. There is the common opinion that the proposal on the construction of buildings with 40 - 70 stories in the Hanoi Railway Station and surrounding area is unintentionally contradictory with the regulation on management of high-rises in the historic inner-city areas approved in April 2016.
Specifically, Article No. 9 of this Regulation states that buildings in the area surrounding Hanoi railway station will be built with the maximum of 18 stories (equaling 65 meters). Furthermore, Article No. 7 of this Regulation also stipulates that no high-rise buildings are allowed to be built to the west of Le Duan Street, the architecture of the buildings must be suitable for the landscape of the area and conservation of Hanoi railway station.
Architect Dao Ngoc Nghiem, Deputy Chairman of the Hanoi Urban Planning Association, the Regulation on management of high-rise buildings in the historic inner-city areas approved in April 2016 expresses the desire and will of Ha Noi city under the pressure that numerous high-rise buildings were built. "This Regulation itself was made based on the Master Plan and the Capital Law. Therefore, this Regulation must be strictly followed," said Nghiem.
It is known that the planning scheme was prepared by the Department of Planning and Architecture of Hanoi with consultation of Japan-based Nikken Sekkei Civil Engineering Ltd (NSC), a famous planning consultancy company. The scheme is based on the TOD model (Transit Oriented Development), i.e. the development of transportation is chosen as the basis for urban planning; and a traffic hub is chosen as a population-gathering hub to form a dispersed traffic system.
Theoretically, the method of planning preparation was assessed to be in line with the actual situation in Ha Noi, but practically, besides unreasonable contents, the scheme is contrary to the regulation on reducing population density in the central area of Ha Noi.
For the effective planning, initially, the legal system must be strict, open and transparent in terms of planning and architecture; at the same time, the planning objectives must be directed towards the common development and the common benefits of the community. Particularly in specific areas such as Hanoi, which is the Capital and city with a rich history and culture of thousand years and particular features of geopolitics, the planning and investment development must be seriously and carefully considered.
