'Giant' of public transport

Hanoi has just agreed with the proposal of departments and branches on demolishing the "Shark Jaw" building, orienting to create underground space, and at the same time expanding Dong Kinh - Nghia Thuc Square (Hoan Kiem district).

Shark Jaw Building is managed and operated by Hanoi Transport Corporation (Transerco). This is a state-owned enterprise under the Hanoi People's Committee, established in 2004. Transerco's head office is located at 5 Le Thanh Tong, Hoan Kiem District and the Trade and Service Center is at 32 Nguyen Cong Tru, Hai Ba Trung, Hanoi.

The Corporation is operating in four main business areas: Public passenger transport; Transport infrastructure; Transport business; Trade services and added value. The company has over 10,000 employees, a charter capital of VND 1,200 billion, and total assets of over VND 2,500 billion.

In particular, public passenger transport - especially the bus system - is the "backbone" of the company. With a bus network covering Hanoi and surrounding areas, Transerco has become a familiar means of transport for millions of people. The bus routes are operated by Hanoi Bus Company, Thang Long Bus or 10-10 Bus.

Transerco manages and operates a bus system under the Hanoibus brand, including more than 100 routes and more than 1,000 vehicles, serving nearly 50 million passengers and providing 1.4 million monthly ticket stamps each year, covering the inner city and suburban areas, connecting Hanoi with neighboring provinces.

In particular, within the city, Transerco has bus routes connecting universities, hospitals, urban areas, tourist attractions around Hanoi, major bus stations, Noi Bai airport; Citytour double-decker bus route serving tourists; BRT bus route...

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Transerco is a key enterprise in the public passenger transport system in Hanoi. Photo: Transerco

In 2024, Transerco transported more than 234 million trips, an increase of 4.5% over the previous year, accounting for 58% of the transportation volume in Hanoi.

In addition, Transerco manages public parking lots and services in Hanoi. This enterprise currently has more than 10,000 employees working in 12 affiliated units and 5 subsidiaries.

The corporation also invested in electric buses and built pilot charging station infrastructure for three bus routes under the city's direction, using its own capital and starting operations in February.

Manage multiple parking lots, parking spots, and prime land

In addition to passenger transport activities, static traffic services are also a key strength of Transerco. The enterprise is assigned to manage and operate the city's major bus station system, including My Dinh, Giap Bat, Gia Lam and Yen Nghia bus stations and a number of secondary auxiliary bus stations.

Every year, major bus stations managed by Transerco handle nearly 3 million vehicles and nearly 25 million passengers. Vehicle parking services serve more than 8 million passengers each year.

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The "Shark Jaw" building. Photo: Crystal

This enterprise also participates in exploiting vehicle parking services in the city center at high-rise parking garages on main streets such as: Nguyen Cong Tru, Truong Chinh, Tran Nhat Duat, Nguyen Cong Hoan... and licensed parking spots.

Another notable point is the commercial service sector, including the management and operation of the “Shark Jaw” building. This building is located at 1-3-5 Dinh Tien Hoang. This is not only a bustling commercial center but also considered an architectural symbol near Hoan Kiem Lake, attracting many tourists and residents thanks to its prime location.

Specifically, the north of this building borders Cau Go Street, the south borders Dinh Tien Hoang Street, the west borders Le Thai To Street and Dong Kinh Nghia Thuc Square. The building has a frontage facing Hoan Kiem Lake, built on a land area of ​​310m2, with a design of 5 floors, 1 mezzanine floor and 1 attic floor.

The total floor area is 1,758m2, including lobby, corridor, stairs and elevator. This project was built in 1993 and has been renovated and reinforced to maintain quality.

According to the decision approving specific land prices as the basis for calculating annual land rent, Transerco must pay rent for 310m2 of land in the "Shark Jaw" building at a price of nearly 760 million VND/m2 - applied for the purpose of use as a trading and commercial center. The rental price is considered quite "bargain" compared to the actual value of real estate in expensive central areas such as Hoan Kiem district.

Not only demolishing the “Shark Jaws”, Hanoi City is also researching the demolition and relocation of a number of agencies east of Hoan Kiem Lake, including the Northern Power Corporation, the National Power Transmission Corporation, the Hanoi Power Corporation, the Hanoi Department of Culture and Sports and dozens of households.

Many urban architecture experts support the plan to demolish the "Shark Jaw" building and relocate some agencies east of Hoan Kiem Lake of the Hanoi People's Committee; at the same time, they believe that the Hoan Kiem Lake area and its vicinity should not have any more constructions.

Who designed and built the "Shark Jaws" building? Since its construction, the "Shark Jaws" building has had many conflicting opinions with more than 200 articles published about this project. The designer, architect Ta Xuan Van, said he cried because the building was transformed and expanded.
The 'Shark Jaw' building near Hoan Kiem Lake: Boldly demolished because it is not a heritage . One issue to note when renovating and reconstructing the space around Hoan Kiem Lake is to consider the open spaces and public spaces in relation to the entire lake.