VietNamNet Bridge - Trang Tien, Dinh Le, Le Thai To streets contain the “golden land” plots in the central area of the capital city of Hanoi, valued at billions of dollars. But they have not turned out to be as profitable as expected.

Jonathan Hanh Nguyen, a well-known businessman dubbed as the “branded goods king”, was believed to spend VND400 billion to renovate the building at No 24 Hai Ba Trung Street and turn it into a luxury shopping mall. 

Located in the golden land area, facing Hoan Kiem Lake, near the city’s Post Office, but the shopping mall, though well designed, is still deserted. 

The golden land plot at No 9 Dinh Le Street, not far from Trang Tien Street, is facing the same problem.

Vinexad has been trying to sell the land plot, its most valuable asset, at just VND70 billion for the last year. However, there are still no buyers.

In Hanoi, where an inch of soil is an inch of gold, there are still golden land plots worth multi-billions of dong left idle for years.

On Le Thai To Street, where Hoan Kiem Lake is situated, there is a row of French-style houses with no vacancies. In the past, this was a bustling shopping area with many shops distributing branded goods. 

These were a series of bustling streetfront shops there, including a shop of a Singaporean famous fashion brand. However, the shop has relocated to another site.

Ho Guom Xanh, a once famous music and song performance center, located on Le Thai To Street, no longer exists. Despite the advantageous position, it still had to shut down.

Also closed is New Century Club, which was even larger and more famous than Ho Guom Xanh, located on Trang Thi Street, just one kilometer far from Hoan Kiem Lake. 

The club had its operation license revoked because of serious violations. The land plot of the New Century Club was leased by another company after five years of being left idle.

A large building on the same street, covering hundreds of square meters, has also been left unexploited. 

It once served as the head office of an interior furniture company and then a bank branch. 

However, the company and the bank left, leaving space for locals to open street iced tea shops serving mostly nonresident people, who drop in sometimes. They do not add to the wonderful view of the central area, while the drinks, sweets and cigarettes served are not high-end products.

As such, the golden land area in the center of Hanoi has not been a guarantee of success for all businesses. 

Duy Anh