This morning, March 16, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh chaired a conference to address difficulties and promote social housing development.
In his speech at the conference, Mr. Nguyen Van Thanh Huy, Deputy General Director of Becamex Industrial and Investment Corporation, said that up to now, the company has completed over 45,000 apartments including both workers’ housing and social housing, with a focus on developing workers’ housing to stabilize the laborers’ living conditions in the working provinces such as Binh Duong. Currently, Becamex will also focus on developing social housing in parallel with workers’ housing.
“For Binh Duong, workers’ housing is mainly for rent, but Binh Duong aims to stabilize the general social welfare, which means that workers will own the houses. In 2024, Binh Duong Province will prioritize the commencement of the construction of 10,000 social housing units. In terms of capital, the province will balance its resources and call for the participation of commercial banks to implement these projects,” Mr. Huy said.
Mr. Nguyen Van Thanh Huy, Deputy General Director of Becamex Corporation – Photo: VGP/Nhat Bac
Representatives from Becamex also stated that the company will commence the construction of 2,000 apartments in the first quarter of 2024. During the implementation, Becamex has identified some issues: firstly, the interest rates for the workers are still high, and secondly, the loan period for the workers is short. “If we extend the loan period for the workers, it will provide greater opportunities for the workers to own social housing,” said Mr. Huy, Deputy General Director of Becamex.
Mr. Truong Anh Tuan – Chairman of the Board of Directors of Hoang Quan Group speaks at the Conference – Photo: VGP/Nhat Bac
Also at the conference, Mr. Truong Anh Tuan – Chairman of the Board of Directors of Hoang Quan Real Estate Consulting, Trading, and Service Joint Stock Company, said that the company has participated in social housing and workers’ housing programs for over 10 years, and up to now, it has completed 10 projects with a total of 10,000 apartments, including 4 projects and 4,000 apartments in Ho Chi Minh City.
Hoang Quan Group has also registered to participate in the 1 million social housing program, equivalent to 50,000 units. Currently, the company is implementing 12 projects and will complete 3,000 units in Tay Ninh, Binh Thuan, and Tra Vinh in 2024.
During the implementation process, Mr. Tuan proposed some issues: firstly, the Housing Law, the Real Estate Business Law, and the Land Law have resolved many difficulties, but if possible, Hoang Quan proposes that the Government submit to the National Assembly, specifically the section on social housing in the Housing Law, should be implemented from July 1, 2024, so that many difficulties can be resolved and the program of 1,000,000 social housing units can be strongly promoted.
Secondly, regarding the VND 120,000 billion package, it is a very good and compassionate program, but Chairman Hoang Quan is concerned about why it is not applied to customers who have bought houses in completed projects?
“Previously, we had a VND 30,000 billion package, but it was later stopped, so many customers including citizens, workers, armed forces, were not entitled to incentives from the VND 30,000 billion package. We recommend that the VND 120,000 billion package should be applicable to customers who have purchased houses in completed projects but have not accessed preferential credit,” Mr. Tuan proposed.
Chairman Hoang Quan believed that with the VND 120,000 billion package, there is currently a lack of synchronization of loan periods between the investors and the customers. Customers are eligible for a 5-year loan, but the investors are only eligible for a 3-year loan, and many banks have proposed that the investors guarantee the customers when they borrow capital to buy social houses.
“Therefore, if customers are eligible for a 5-year loan, the investors must also be eligible for a 5-year loan. We hope the State Bank of Vietnam will further study this issue,” Mr. Tuan emphasized.
Thirdly, Chairman Hoang Quan proposed that the Government may allocate 1-2% to credit institutions. If 1%, it is equivalent to VND 1,200 billion per year, and if 2% is equivalent to VND 2,400 billion per year. In this way, when the Government provides a 1-2% interest subsidy, this program will certainly be more successful and stronger than the current VND 120,000 billion package.
“We clearly see that all localities, ministries, and sectors support the program of 1 million social housing units, and the development of social housing has achieved more remarkable results compared to before this program,” Mr. Tuan said.
