The prospect of Ho Chi Minh City testing flying taxis thanks to the Urban Development Law
(Dan Tri) - The Urban Development Law creates a legal basis for Ho Chi Minh City to build low-altitude spatial planning, paving the way for testing flying delivery vehicles and flying taxis.
After the Urban Development Law was passed by the National Assembly, the Department of Planning and Architecture of Ho Chi Minh City is finalizing a draft Resolution regulating low-level spatial planning to submit to the City People's Council for consideration.
This is an important step to help Ho Chi Minh City proactively build a legal framework for a completely new field, which does not have specific instructions at the local level. In particular, flying taxi is one of the notable controlled testing (sandbox) service models.
Planning for airspace below 3,000m
According to the draft Resolution of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Council, "low-altitude space" is defined as the space on the land and water surface within the city's administrative boundaries to an altitude of less than 3,000m.
This space serves socio-economic development, science and technology, traffic and urban management activities, associated with ensuring national defense and security.
The introduction of this specific concept is considered a new point, because the current regulations only stop at the general principles of airspace protection and no-fly zones but do not yet provide guidance on low-altitude spatial planning at the local level.
Low-altitude space planning in Ho Chi Minh City is expected to include space for testing flying taxis, delivery aircraft... (Photo: Ngoc Tan).
The planning project plans to zone, classify and establish flight corridors at altitudes below 1,000m, and research to expand to below 3,000m. Flight areas must be outside the national defense and security protection area or there must be a special control coordination plan approved by the Ministry of National Defense and the Ministry of Public Security.
In addition, the planning documents will determine the current status and forecast of flight traffic; Arrange shared infrastructure land fund such as charging stations, take-off/landing yards, positioning sensor systems, radars, battery swap stations... synchronously connected with ground public transportation. The draft also requires a detailed assessment of risks to aviation safety, noise, battery waste and residents' privacy.
Notably, the planning documents will include a space belt map dedicated to controlled testing areas (sandboxes) for flying taxis, delivery drones... before mass commercial licensing.
For real-time monitoring, Ho Chi Minh City will research and build a management platform applying digital twin technology, supporting remote identification, electronic flight licensing and automatic flight path conflict warnings.
For the first time, there is a low-level spatial planning process
Unlike current regulations, the draft Resolution of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Council for the first time fully defines the process of establishing, appraising and approving low-level spatial planning - a field that is determined to be new and without precedent at the local level.
The draft stipulates that the time for preparing a planning outline is not more than 2 months, planning is not more than 12 months, and appraisal is not more than 30 days from the date the appraisal agency receives complete documents.
After being prepared and evaluated, the planning will be submitted to the Ho Chi Minh City People's Council for consideration and approval before the Chairman of the City People's Committee issues a decision to approve.
An event demonstrating delivery drones in Ho Chi Minh City (Photo: Ngoc Tan).
Planning documents are also completely digitized. In addition to the paper version, the geographic digital data storage system (GIS) and 3D spatial zoning planning map will show details of altitude stratification and flight corridors, creating a platform to connect with national planning information data.
The draft also stipulates a mechanism for periodic review or emergency adjustment when there are requirements for national defense, security, natural disasters or major technological changes. Funding for implementation is allocated from the Ho Chi Minh City budget and other legal capital sources.
This proactive right comes from Article 11 of the Urban Development Law recently passed by the National Assembly, allowing the People's Council of Ho Chi Minh City to regulate the preparation, appraisal, and approval of underground, low- and high-altitude space planning, and at the same time promulgate investment incentive policies and exploit revenue sources from these spaces.
The Urban Development Law recently passed by the National Assembly has given Ho Chi Minh City the right to proactively develop low-level spatial planning.
Specifically, Article 11 of this law clearly states: The City People's Council regulates the preparation, appraisal, approval, and adjustment of underground space planning, low-level space, and high-level space.
The City People's Council is also entitled to stipulate preferential policies, support and encouragement for investment, development of underground works, exploitation of low-altitude space and high-altitude space; Revenues from the exploitation and use of underground space, low-altitude space, and high-altitude space.