Major projects languish as speculators abandon land plots

Property speculation and a lack of roads and facilities such as hospitals, schools and shopping malls have led to a number of so-called “deserted towns” in real estate hotspots in Ho Chi Minh City.
Major projects languish as speculators abandon land plots ảnh 1A deserted area in a real estate hotspot in HCM City’s district 9 (Photo: cafeland.vn)
HCM City (VNS/VNA) - Property speculation and a lack of roads andfacilities such as hospitals, schools and shopping malls have led to a numberof so-called “deserted towns” in real estate hotspots in Ho Chi Minh City.  

In recent years, a number of huge residential and urbanprojects have attracted investment in districts 9, 2, 12 and Can Gio.

However, most of the areas, located in spots where so-calledland fever has occurred, are empty or unfinished, especially in district 9.

In 2005, district 9 in the eastern part of the city hadhundreds of projects attracting many investors, most of whom were landspeculators. 

However, many of the projects remain unfinished or thosethat have been completed have few occupants.

The Dong Tang Long Urban Area project in district 9 was oneof the most promising projects for speculators at the time.

Nguyen Van Thang, a broker for the project told VietnamNews: “You should never wait to invest in real estate, but instead youshould buy the property and wait to sell it later at a much higher price.” 

The Housing and Urban Development Investment Company (HUD)invested more than 1.1 trillion VND (47 million USD) in the Dong Tang Long UrbanArea for site clearance, internal roads, and electricity and waterinfrastructure. 

However, after nearly 15 years, the project has only 10villas, while hundreds of land plots are uninhabited.

Similarly, the Real Estate 10 Company invested more than 600 billion VND for site clearance and internal road infrastructure for the BacRach Chiec project in Phuoc Long A ward in district 9 on an area of 82ha. 

However, due to a lack of connecting roads and facilitiessuch as schools and hospitals and supermarkets, the area has become a parkingarea for container trucks.

Another project is the Khang An residential project in Phu Huu ward in district 9, invested in by Khang An Real Estate InvestmentJSC. 

Despite a relatively prime location near the Long Thanh –Dau Giay expressway, the 116,000-sq.m residential project remains deserted.

Though many of the villas and houses have been completed,they have been abandoned for a long period.

Meanwhile, the owners of the villas and houses have blockedthe gates or entrances to the properties to prevent drug addicts from enteringthe property, where they shoot up. This has become a common problem in suchdeserted areas. 

The situation is the same in district 2, which is planned tobecome a new urban area in the eastern part of the city. Only a few projectsinclude residents in buildings in good locations, with current prices from 50 - 70 million VND per square metre. 

Areas such as Thanh My Loi and Binh Trung Dong, which usedto be a busy market for land speculation, are now just an immense field withfew residents.

In addition, the Saigon SunBay sea encroachment project inCan Gio district, invested in by the Can Gio Tourism Urban Joint Stock Company,stopped developing after it completed site clearance.

With a total investment of 1.5 billion USD, the project coversa total area of 600 hectares, of which 400 hectares are land for constructionof tourism and high-end residential areas; and 200 ha for a private beach.

Under the original plan, the project would include hotels,resorts, shopping malls with entertainment services, and luxury apartment andvillas serving 31,000 residents and tourists.

The project was expected to be finished by mid-2016 and takefive years to build a system for sea encroachment and other technicalinfrastructure.

Nguyen Van Duc, deputy director of Dat Lanh Real EstateCompany, said it was important to develop connecting roads to project areas andinvest in facilities to serve residents. 

According to Le Hoang Chau, chairman of the HCM City RealEstate Association, buyers of land plots are mostly speculators.

“Buyers with real demand should wait for prices to stabiliseand ensure the project’s legitimacy before making a payment,” he said. 

Last year, real estate prices across HCM City increasedsharply. The eastern part of the city was a land fever hotspot, withland prices in districts 2, 9, Thu Duc, Nha Be, Binh Chanh and Can Gio allsurging by 50-100 percent compared to the end of 2017. 

Prices in district 9 rose from 60-100 percent by the middleof the second quarter last year compared to the same period in 2017.

Land in some areas of district 2 was priced at 140-160million VND per square metre, a peak price for the area.-VNS/VNA  
VNA

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