Hanoi to restrict polluting vehicles in populated areas starting 2025

Hanoi is set to trial a low-emission zone (LEZ) model from 2025 in a bid to combat rising air pollution. The plan will restrict high-polluting vehicles in densely populated areas, targeting air pollution hotspots across the city. Le Thanh Nam, director of the city's Department of Natural Resources and Environment, pointed to the city's heavy consumption of resources, including 80 million kWh of electricity and millions of liters of gasoline daily, as significant contributors to pollution.

The city is undertaking several measures to improve air quality, such as expanding public transport, developing green spaces, utilizing green energy, and monitoring environmental quality through automated systems. Specific efforts include introducing routes exclusively for electric buses and low-emission vehicles.

Hanoi’s transport infrastructure is under growing pressure due to the rapid increase in personal vehicle ownership, with personal vehicle numbers rising by 4-5% annually, while car numbers increase by 10% each year. In contrast, the city's infrastructure expands by only 0.28% per year, and only 12% of land is allocated for traffic, below the targeted 16%. This has led to 33 traffic congestion hotspots.

Urban railways have been proposed as a long-term solution to the city's traffic and pollution challenges. Plans now include the construction of 14 railway routes spanning 600 km, although it could take 15-20 years to complete and cost around $50 billion.

Pollution statistics from 2018-2020 show that PM2.5 levels in Hanoi were double the national standard, with transportation contributing between 50-70% of PM2.5 emissions, making traffic one of the largest contributors to the city’s air pollution problem.