The HCMC authorities should review the prevailing legal frameworks and the financial capacity of investors while seeking investments in projects on the city’s prime sites, said many experts in response to constant investor changes and project suspensions over the years.

An aerial view of Thanh Da Peninsula 

Taking back prime land sites where projects were coming up but have now been suspended is among the efforts made by the city government. However, according to Nguyen Van Dinh, chairman of the Vietnam Association of Real Estate Brokers, withdrawal of land was not easy.

The city has to provide compensation and ensure the interests of investors when land is taken back. Meanwhile, the city’s budget is limited while specific policies on compensation are lacking.

Commenting on the issue, Prof. Dang Hung Vo, former Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, said that legal frameworks have made the recovery of prime land from suspended projects more complicated.

Work on the projects on prime land is likely to resume this year, since the municipal government at a recent meeting asked the HCMC Department of Planning and Investment to make a list of projects falling behind schedule and look for new investors to facilitate these projects.

The department was required to map out plans to call on investments in key projects in downtown HCMC, including Binh Quoi-Thanh Da urban project and a project at 164 Dong Khoi street, or to float tenders for nine plots of land in Thu Thiem.

It is a must to call for investments in projects that have been suspended for a long time. However, legal procedures may delay the process of seeking suitable investors.

Binh Quoi-Thanh Da Urban project, for example, has faced suspension for over 25 years, pending new investors. Efforts made by the city’s authorities and interested investors to facilitate the project did not reap expected results due to cumbersome investment procedures, said Vo Van Hoan, head of the city government's office, at a meeting held in late 2018.

Aside from the Binh Quoi-Thanh Da Urban project, other projects had to be suspended due to site clearance issues and land use prices.

SGT