Stack cars and motorbikes vertically. Ho Chi Minh City's chosen answer to chronic parking shortages was to build up into the sky rather than out across the ground. The city's Department of Construction is advancing a plan to build a total of four automated multi-story parking towers at three bus terminals in the city. The design fits 50 cars and 120 motorbikes onto a plot of just 250 square meters, with a completion target within 2026. For residents and business visitors who have struggled to find a place to park after driving into the center, this will determine how much the downtown "nowhere to park" changes.
50 cars in 250 square meters: inside the four mechanical towers
The plan is being led by the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Construction. The sites are two units, A and B, at Cho Lon Bus Terminal (Cho Lon ward, the so-called Chinatown area), one at Saigon Bus Terminal (Ben Thanh ward, central), and one at Tan Phu Bus Terminal (Tay Thanh ward, on the northwestern edge)—four in all. Each holds 50 cars and 120 motorbikes and occupies 250 square meters. The idea is to stack a large number of vehicles vertically in a footprint that would fit only a few cars in a flat lot.
The tower has a modular structure, and once the driver steps out of the car, automated controls carry the vehicle to its designated bay. It has a built-in AI license-plate recognition system and a fire-suppression system to contain fires. The total project cost is about 80 billion dong (about 3 million dollars, roughly 470 million yen at about 155 yen to the dollar). Each unit is said to cost about 20 billion dong (about 760,000 dollars).
Only a fifth of the plan in place: a chronic shortage of parking
Behind these four towers lies the reality that Ho Chi Minh City's parking infrastructure falls well short of plan. The parking capacity the city has managed to build stands at about one-fifth of the plan, and against a target of roughly 1,200 hectares, more than 900 hectares are said to be lacking. Four underground parking facilities designed several years ago ultimately never got built.
In 2025 the city absorbed two adjacent provinces to become Vietnam's largest city, with a population over 14 million. The pace at which people and cars gather has outrun the provision of places to park them. With underground schemes stalling over the time and cost of land acquisition, mechanical towers — buildable on small plots in short timeframes — have emerged as a realistic next move for the government.
| Site | Area | Number of units |
|---|---|---|
| Cho Lon bus terminal | Cho Lon (Chinatown) | Two units (A and B) |
| Saigon Bus Terminal | Ben Thanh ward (central area) | One unit |
| Tan Phu Bus Terminal | Thai Thanh ward (northwestern edge) | One unit |
That all of them sit alongside bus terminals reveals the plan’s character. This isn’t merely adding parking, but a receptacle for “park and ride”—leaving your car or motorbike at the terminal and transferring to public transit.
The aim is less “to park” than “to make people transfer”
The fact that all three sites are bus terminals tells you plenty about the city's intent. Rather than letting cars push into the center, it has them park at the edges or transit nodes and enter downtown from there by bus or metro. These are towers meant as transfer points, to ease congestion and the parking crunch at the same time.
This context is continuous with the expansion of public transport Ho Chi Minh City has been pursuing. Across the city, free bus service has spread in stages,1.32 million uses in just five days after launch, with users up about 30%results are coming in. While drawing riders by making buses free, the city is also arranging places to park vehicles for transferring to those buses. Park and ride is one wheel of that pair.
What changes for Japanese residents and business travelers
For residents who have driven cars and motorbikes into the center to run errands, this plan could change how they structure their trips. The time spent hunting for a spot on a downtown street or in the gaps between mixed-use buildings could be replaced by parking at a terminal and coming in on public transit. The Saigon bus terminal in Ben Thanh ward, in particular, is close to the center, making a route of parking there and entering the commercial district on foot or via a short transfer feel realistic.
There are takeaways from a business traveler's perspective, too. Taking a bus from the airport or hotel into the city and getting off at the terminal near your destination becomes easier to do as the parking infrastructure develops. In July, the city's route network134 routes to go fare-freeand other options are widening, and visitors without a car stand to benefit most. Those who get around by rental motorbike or car also gain more options to shift downtown parking to a terminal starting point.
Facing the same direction as building the city's framework
A mechanized parking tower looks like a small capital investment on its own. But placed within the bigger picture Ho Chi Minh City is drawing for urban transport, its role comes into focus. The cityA plan to develop 940 hectares around Metro Line 2's stations into five new urban districtsis being rolled out, bundling rail, bus, and parking to disperse the flow of people away from a single downtown concentration. The parking tower is the terminal component connecting cars and motorbikes to that skeleton.
Four units alone won’t solve the city’s parking crunch. Against a shortfall on the scale of over 900 hectares, four towers fill only a sliver. Even so, for a city where underground schemes keep stalling, a mechanical type that can be built on a small plot in a short time is easy to replicate. If these four go into operation and actually capture transfer demand, they set the stage for adding the same type at other terminals and along main roads.
What to keep in mind when using it
For now it's at the planning stage, and the practical details—fees, the reservation system, how two- and four-wheelers are handled—are still to come. Completion is targeted for within 2026, but Vietnam's infrastructure timelines often shift, so it's safest to wait for an opening announcement to know when you can actually park. For the time being, it helps to plan your travel on the assumption that the three terminals—Cho Lon, Saigon, and Tan Phu—will grow into 'points to park and transfer to public transit.'
Instead of circling downtown looking for parking, park once at a terminal near your destination and get there by bus or metro. Ho Chi Minh City is gradually reshaping into a city where you can choose that flow. Next time you head into the city, try thinking first about "where to transfer" rather than where to park.
