Hanoi plans measures to reduce traffic jams

A traffic jam on Nguyen Trai Road, Hanoi (Source :kenh 14)

Hanoi (VNA) - Hanoi aims to reduce up to 10 traffic congestion hotspots and limit the duration of traffic jams to less than 30 minutes, People's Committee Chairman Nguyen Duc Chung said.

Speaking at a conference on ensuring traffic order during the Lunar New Year Festival, Chung said traffic jams continued to be a huge problem with 44 hotspots in the city where traffic was blocked for hours.

The Nguyen Trai-Ha Dong and Cau Giay-Xuan Thuy-Ho Tung Mau routes were the most severely affected ones.

Vice-Chairman of the municipal committee Nguyen Ngoc Tuan said the main reason for traffic jams was the increasing number of newly registered vehicles.

Figures from the city show that about 20,000 motorbikes and 8,000 cars are registered every month.

On average, nearly 1,000 new cars and motorbikes are added to the traffic every day.

It is estimated the city will have about one million cars and seven million motorbikes by 2020.

In the meantime, the development of traffic infrastructure remains inadequate.

"Traffic congestion will become more complicated, especially in the inner city," he said.

Chung said the city would work with the city police, and traffic inspectors would be stationed at hotspots to assure smooth traffic flow. At least 500 policemen will be stationed at various locations in the inner city.

The city will continue to organise free bus services to help workers at industrial and economic zones return to their homes for the Tet holiday. Passenger bus services at bus stations will be asked to add more buses before and after the holiday.-VNA