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Abandoned real estate projects in Saigon
VietNamNet Bridge - While the need for housing is on the rise, there are hundreds of housing projects in HCM City that have not been implemented.
According to the latest report of the HCM City Department of Construction,
the city currently has about 600 idle real estate projects, licenced a few years ago.
Most of the projects have not been implemented because of financial problems. Some of them were owned by speculators.
The latest report of the Ministry of Construction disclosed that property inventory values had dropped to VND83.5 trillion in the first quarter of 2014 in HCM City.
This figure represents a decrease of VND45 trillion, or 35 percent, compared with the first quarter of 2013.
However, HCM City ranks first for property inventory in the country, worth VND15.8 trillion.
Some giant projects have been idle for many years, such as Kenton Residences, Dong Tang Long urban area project, Khang An - Phu Huu residential area project, The Sun City Phuoc Kien project, M&C Tower, Waseco-Indochina Plaza, Blue Star Block 1, Song Da Riverside, Indochina Pearl, and 584 Lilama Nguyen Oanh.
The HCMC government early this month withdrew the licenses and ‘in principle’ approval of 536 long-delayed real estate projects occupying a combined area of more than 5,390 hectares since Resolution No.16/2012/NQ of the HCMC People’s Council took effect two years ago.
HCMC vice chairman Nguyen Huu Tin said that licenses were revoked and land allocation invalidated for urban development projects that have progressed at a snail’s pace.
The updated number of canceled projects is much higher than the figure the city announced last month.
In June, the city said it had revoked the licenses of 209 foot-dragging property projects covering more than 2,300 hectares, as found in inspections the city had carried out since early last year.
At a press conference held late last month, Vo Van Luan, office manager of the HCMC People’s Committee, said the city would continue its inspections of property projects, and those investors unable to carry out their projects on schedule would face the same fate.
Figures released by the HCMC People’s Committee last month showed there were 1,386 housing projects covering more than 11,770 hectares in the city.
Completed developments accounted for only 13% to 15% of the projects that are under construction.
Up to 61.6% of the property projects have been suspended, and the rest have had their licenses or ‘in principle’ approval canceled.
The city has completed a master zoning plan on a 1/2000 scale to serve as a legal basis for urban management and development in HCM City, the economic hub of Vietnam.
And in the coming time, the city government will continue inspecting about 100 projects allocated to investors that show signs of slow progress.
Delayed projects are also being inspected in other localities in Vietnam.
Nguyen Minh Quang, Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, told the “Citizens Ask, Ministers Answer” program that aired on Vietnam Television (VTV) last Sunday that around 20,000 hectares of these delayed projects had been taken back by local authorities.