While supplies of urban land in Vietnam ’s major cities are almost exhausted little attention has been paid to using underground space, a conference here was told on July 15.

According to Luu Duc Hai, director of the Department of Urban Deveopment, under the Ministry of Construction, public space in big cities is narrowing down.

“In recent years, we have only focused on developing the height of urban areas while neglecting the underground space,” he said.

Currently, Vietnam has a total of 747 urban areas which have attracted 30.5 percent of the nation’s 82 million polulation.

“Developing underground space in the country is an inevitable choice,” said Hai.

Chairman of the board of directors of Vincom Company, Le Khac Hiep, agreed, saying that underground space in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City could bring about great economic benefits.

He said that developing underground space should not only focus on infrastructure work, such as cables, sewerage and water systems, but be extended to commercial centres, public places and entertainment areas.

But even trying to get an overall picture of this type of undergrounding was made almost impossible because there were no comprehensive maps of infrastructure work throughout Vietnam .

Each project is handled by a different body, according to Nguyen Hong Tien, deputy director of the Department of Technical Infrastructure at the Ministry of Construction.

This included a recent plan by Hanoi authorities to bury all power and telephone lines.

Some roads have been buried, such as the Kiem Lien-Le Duan underpass, or the underpass at Tran Duy Hung Street .

But plans by Hanoi and HCM City to build underground parking still remain on paper.

“There’s a lack of a comprehensive vision on underground space development for urban areas,” Tien said.

No detailed standards or designs have been created for underground structure, which can be complicated, high-risk ventures requiring plenty of capital.

This has been blamed for recent flooding of underground work.

Hai has proposed the Government workout a strategy to develop underground space and to research the subject, including a budget, a vision and legal framework.

“Underground planning must be included in urban planning,” he said.

Vice chairman of the Vietnam Construction Association Pham Sy Liem said that underground development should be promoted as soon as possible./.