Records at some apartment buildings in Hanoi show that electric vehicle charging infrastructure is currently mainly spontaneous. Mr. Nguyen Xuan Thai, a resident at an apartment building in An Khanh area, Hanoi, said that his family has to pull electric wires from the apartment to the basement to charge electric motorbikes because the parking area does not have a centralized charging station.
This is not only inconvenient but also potentially risks short circuits, especially when the building's electrical system is not designed to withstand the load of many charging devices at the same time.
Ms. Nguyen Mai Anh, another resident living in the old Mai Dich apartment building, reflected that the limited basement area makes it almost impossible to arrange a separate area for electric vehicles.
Electric cars and gasoline cars are still interspersed, charging without specific zoning. This makes many people worried about the risk of unsafety, especially in the context of fire and explosion incidents.
According to residents, the need is not only limited to having a place to charge, but also needs a well-planned system with clear technical standards, electrical safety and fire prevention. This not only helps people feel secure in using it but also creates conditions to promote the transition to green vehicles.
Discussing this issue, Ms. Hoang Thu Hang - Deputy Director of the Department of Housing and Real Estate Market Management, Ministry of Construction said that along with the policy of transitioning to green energy, the number of electric vehicles in Vietnam has increased rapidly in recent times.
Currently, the whole country has more than 2 million electric motorbikes and about 300,000 registered electric cars in circulation. This increase leads to a large demand for service infrastructure, especially in densely populated residential areas such as apartment buildings.
According to Ms. Hang, the current housing law and the National Technical Regulation on apartment buildings have regulations on management, operation and safety requirements for works as well as parking areas.
However, these regulations do not fully cover the technical characteristics of electric vehicles and charging systems. Meanwhile, electric vehicles have their own requirements for power sources, charging devices and safety levels, different from vehicles using internal combustion engines.
Therefore, supplementing appropriate solutions and regulations is necessary to meet practical needs, while ensuring safety for people, including in newly built apartment buildings and existing works.
Ms. Hang also emphasized that the process of developing regulations needs to be carefully studied because it affects many subjects, especially in operation management and fire prevention and fighting requirements.
The Ministry of Construction has organized workshops with the participation of ministries, sectors, businesses and experts to gather opinions on supplementing regulations related to electric vehicle charging stations in the National Technical Regulation on apartment buildings.
Based on the synthesis of opinions, the draft regulation has been completed, widely consulted and has now been sent to the Ministry of Science and Technology for further appraisal, aiming to be issued under the direction of the Prime Minister before April 30, 2026.
The draft new regulation focuses on supplementing requirements for the electric vehicle charging area, the electric vehicle parking area and the battery exchange area.
These contents aim to clearly define the location arrangement, separate zoning, control the number of charging devices, and at the same time provide standards for electrical systems, lighting and fire prevention and fighting suitable to the specifics of electric vehicles.
In the context of increasingly popular electric vehicles, early standardization of charging stations in apartment buildings is an urgent requirement.
This is not only a solution to meet the living needs of people but also contributes to ensuring safety, improving management efficiency and promoting the green transformation process in urban areas.
