VietNamNet Bridge – HCM City will establish an agency to manage public housing development in the hope of resolving a pressing issue that has plagued the city for long.

The Department of Construction is working on the issue and awaiting opinions from related agencies. It will submit a draft to the city government for approval in October.

The city's programmes for public housing have suffered due to lack of clear strategies and poor management in the past.

Currently the department co-ordinates public housing programmes, which however involve several other agencies like the Departments of Zoning and Architecture, Finance, Planning and Investment, and Natural Resources and Environment.

Since poor co-ordination has been a bane, setting up a dedicated agency to manage public housing is an agent need, the department said.

The new agency will be tasked with raising funds for public housing and providing low-income people access to such housing.

Lack of funds

Though the city government encourages and offers incentives for investment in public housing, the department said, funds remain a problem.

The city encourages the private sector to invest in low-income housing, offering many incentives like tax breaks and increasing floor area ratio — or the ratio of building to land — by 50 per cent, but these do not appear lucrative enough to attract investors.

The city is barely able to fund construction of housing for its officials and workers.

However, last month it broke ground for two public housing projects in Tan Hung Thuan Ward in District 12 and District 7.

Another 25 apartment projects it has approved are expected to provide more than 4,500 units to low-income people.

Several of them will be finished by 2013.

Three others, in Districts 10, Go Vap, and Thu Duc, are expected to break ground this year.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News