On December 6, Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee organized a conference to promote investment in social housing construction in the city until 2030.
Identifying Challenges
According to the conference, based on Ho Chi Minh City’s housing development program for the period of 2021-2030 and the government’s project to invest in building at least 1 million social houses for low-income people and industrial workers from 2021-2030, Ho Chi Minh City plans to develop approximately 69,700 – 93,000 social houses.
Of these, 26,200 – 35,000 units are planned for the period of 2021-2025. However, from 2021 up to now, only 10 projects have been implemented, with 6 completed and 4 under construction, with a scale of about 6,000 units.
With the active participation of the government and businesses, Ho Chi Minh City’s social housing goals are expected to be achieved.
A series of reasons were given for this situation, including difficulties in planning, approval procedures for investment policies, and land procedures. In addition, many stages affect the development of social housing.
To achieve the targets, in addition to implementing social housing projects, it is necessary to synchronize technical infrastructure and social infrastructure within and outside the project fence. This will ensure living space, improve the quality of life, and contribute to solving housing problems for workers and low-income earners.
Many Factors to Boost Confidence
At the conference, Mr. Pham Minh Man, Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Construction, provided information about 7 land plots/projects with an area of more than 27 hectares and over 3,800 units expected to be promoted for investment. Of these, 2 land plots have detailed planning at a scale of 1/500 in Thu Duc City and District 12, with a scale of 840 units. The city will complete the procedures for approval of investment policies and bid for investors’ selection in January 2025, with expected completion in the second quarter of 2026.
Five land plots are estimated to accommodate about 3,000 apartments. The departments will coordinate with Thu Duc City and District 4 to complete the planning project, determine the planning and architecture criteria to serve as a basis for investment promotion. The expected completion time for the procedures is January 2025, and the bidding for investor selection is March 2025.
Also, according to Mr. Pham Minh Man, 21 enterprises have registered to participate in the development of social housing on the land funds of enterprises, with a scale of 52,167 units. Of these, 9 enterprises have registered specifically based on their land funds in Binh Chanh, Binh Tan, District 7, and Thu Duc City, with 11,614 units, and 12 enterprises have registered and committed to finding land funds in the city to invest in building from now until 2030, with 40,553 units.
The Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Construction calculated that, together with the 7 land plots that the city plans to auction to find investors, plus tens of thousands of units from public investment, about 70,000 social housing units will be formed, ensuring the target from now until 2030.
Mr. Le Hoang Chau, Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Real Estate Association, stated that the overarching and direct solution is to mobilize the full 20% land fund in all commercial housing projects where the investor must build social housing within the project. In addition, given the desire of many investors to exchange the area of land for implementing social housing obligations in commercial housing projects for land funds in other locations of equivalent value, he believes that these two types of land funds are “instant noodles.”
“We highly appreciate the fact that the Department of Construction has recently worked with 14 enterprises in the city that have a 20% land fund in commercial housing projects. With just these 14 enterprises, the target of 69,700 – 93,000 units by 2030 will definitely be achieved,” Mr. Chau asserted. He also suggested that after the conference, there should be continued inspections and meetings with enterprises that had previously registered to develop social housing with their 20% land fund.
Vice Chairman of Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee Bui Xuan Cuong said that the city would soon have supportive policies for social housing development.
Many Good Policies Will Be Introduced
Concluding the conference, Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee Bui Xuan Cuong thanked the enterprises for continuing to maintain their trust and participating in social housing development in the new period. He affirmed that the city would continue to organize meetings to solve difficulties and urge the implementation of a series of tasks.
According to Mr. Bui Xuan Cuong, in addition to the number of registered enterprises, the city also considers some resettlement projects that can be converted into social housing, so the target of more than 69,700 units will be achieved.
The Vice Chairman of Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee shared that after the enterprises registered, there are still many things to be done, especially in terms of planning, planning criteria, land procedures, and approval of investment policies…
Therefore, the city assigned a task force, including the Department of Construction, to continue consulting on the implementation for practicality and effectiveness based on the registered data of the enterprises. The task force was requested to ensure the smoothness of procedures so that there would be no obstacles in the following steps.
The Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee said that, in addition to implementing Resolution 09/2023 of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Council, the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee will soon promulgate supportive policies on interest rates and investment incentives, both inside and outside the project, to encourage enterprises to participate in social housing construction. In addition, the city calculates and allocates land-use coefficients with outstanding advantages for social housing projects.
Standing Together with the City
At the conference, Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee Phan Van Mai affirmed that, from the city to the departments, branches, and districts, everyone is focusing on doing their best in developing social housing. An important task is to solve the investment procedure problems. The departments, branches, and districts must coordinate closely, striving for a project preparation time of 6 months, with a construction and completion time of 1 year.
The Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee also emphasized the content of implementing social housing construction for the armed forces well. In addition, it is necessary to promote the construction of social housing for rent for civil servants, employees, and students, with the goal of having about 100,000 rental units by 2025.
Regarding the relocation of more than 46,000 households living on and along the riverbanks, the Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee proposed that the Real Estate Association and enterprises participate and demonstrate their social responsibility to work with the city to implement this task.
Why Aren’t Buyers Willing to Invest in Real Estate?
“Housing prices are a significant barrier for prospective homeowners, despite the increasing demand for housing and favorable loan interest rates.” said Dr. Can Van Luc, Member of the Monetary and Financial Policy Advisory Council.
The Capital’s Land Allocation: Auctioning Off 30,500 sqm for Social Housing Development
The recent allocation of land in Tam Hung, Thanh Oai district, by the Hanoi People’s Committee, marks an exciting development. Out of the total area of nearly 30,500 square meters, almost 10,000 square meters of residential land will be auctioned, with an additional 5,000 square meters designated for social housing construction. This news signals potential opportunities for investors and developers, as well as a positive step towards addressing housing needs in the area.
The Power of Decentralization: Empowering Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City to Build Efficient Metropolitan Rail Systems
“The Prime Minister emphasized the need for a revolutionary approach in developing the urban railway system for these two major cities. This project entails a complete delegation of authority and empowerment of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City in its implementation and resource mobilization.”
The Korea Land & Housing Corporation’s Visionary Venture:
“A Grand Urban-Industrial Symphony in Binh Dinh”
On December 4th, at the Provincial People’s Committee office, Chairman Pham Anh Tuan met with a delegation from the Korea Land & Housing Corporation, led by Mr. Lim Hyun Seong, Executive Director and Head of the company’s Hanoi office. The delegation was in Binh Dinh to explore investment opportunities and potential collaboration with the province.
