The Hanoi People's Committee has assigned relevant agencies to plan and establish an investment project to renovate, refurbish and rebuild the Dong Kinh - Nghia Thuc Square area, with the highlight being the demolition of the "Shark Jaw" building.
The "Shark Jaw" building was built around 1990-1993 on the site of the old tramway station. Currently, the Hanoi Transport Corporation (Transerco) - a state-owned enterprise under the city's People's Committee - is managing and operating this building. Mr. Nguyen Thanh Nam, General Director of Transerco, said that the company was leased land by the city and managed the "Shark Jaw" building for long-term commercial operations. Now the city has a policy to reclaim and demolish this building, and the unit fully agrees.
The "Shark Jaw" building is managed by Hanoi Transport Corporation (Transerco)
"Our corporation sees this as both an honor and a responsibility for Transerco to contribute to the city's development in the new period," said Mr. Nam.
Mr. Nam said that, in general, after more than 30 years of construction and commercial exploitation, the "Shark Jaw" building has completed its development mission. From the original purpose of serving public transport by the tram system with iron wheels and pneumatic wheels, when the tram sector at that time was stopped, the land was converted to commercial business by the owner (Hanoi Tram Company) and promoted effectively. In recent years, the building has been a place to attract domestic and international tourists every time they visit Hanoi.
Previously, Hanoi approved a decision on planning and renovating the space of the area east of Hoan Kiem Lake in the direction of developing it into a special square - park, and will also invest in renovating, embellishing, and reconstructing the Dong Kinh - Nghia Thuc Square area, with the highlight being the demolition of the "Shark Jaw" building.
Hanoi also approved the idea of researching about 3 basement floors in the Dong Kinh - Nghia Thuc Square area. At the same time, the city will conduct a thorough survey, propose technical solutions for valuable architectural works that need to be preserved during construction, and propose appropriate functions.
In addition to demolishing the "Shark Jaw" building, Hanoi plans to relocate more than 40 households and about 10 headquarters of agencies and businesses near Hoan Kiem Lake to create public spaces for the people. For households located in the project area, Hanoi assigned the Department of Agriculture and Environment to research, advise, and propose to the City People's Committee to apply the highest compensation mechanism and policy for people, and arrange resettlement by land (in Dong Anh district) for cases eligible for compensation for residential land.
Hanoi will renovate the area east of Hoan Kiem Lake into a special square and park.
According to Mr. Nguyen Trong Ky Anh, Director of the Hanoi Department of Planning and Architecture, the study to expand the public space in the Hoan Kiem Lake area is to concretize the planning. The general planning of Hanoi Capital until 2045, with a vision to 2065, clearly states that the development orientation of the Hoan Kiem Lake area is to study conservation, renovation, and organization in the direction of having more public spaces. According to Mr. Ky Anh, after demolishing the "Shark Jaw" building and combining it with the surrounding streets, a space of about 1.2 hectares will be created to serve cultural and artistic activities on major anniversaries. In recent years, the Hoan Kiem Lake walking space has become a venue for many large-scale cultural and artistic events, but because of its small area, this area is always overloaded.
The area east of Hoan Kiem Lake and Dong Kinh Nghia Thuc Square are connected, so if we can create a space that connects historical relics and water landscapes such as Hoan Kiem Lake, Ngoc Son Temple, Pen Tower, and Ba Kieu Temple, it will be very good for the capital.
