VietNamNet Bridge – The HCM City Department of Construction plans to tear down 70 dilapidated apartment buildings over the next two years.

The remaining apartment buildings will be changed to buildings for trade and services.

All of these buildings were built before 1975 and are in danger of collapse.

This year, the plan targets to complete land clearance and compensation for 20 apartment buildings with 3,000 households.

The plan will rebuild seven apartment buildings that will have a total of 1,850 apartment units this year.

Next year, the city will complete land clearance and compensation for 18 apartment buildings that have a total of 465 households.

It will also begin to rebuild 22 apartment buildings that will have a total of 3,287 apartment units.

In 2015, the plan will complete land clearance and compensation for 32 apartment buildings that have a total of 3,789 households.

The plan will also rebuild 32 apartment buildings that will have a total of 4,734 apartment units in 2015.

The department has suggested several incentives to call on investors for the plan.

Investors who participate in the plan will be allowed to mobilise capital for new apartment buildings, excluding apartment buildings for relocation purposes and infrastructure, which will be managed by local administrations.

Participating investors will receive tax incentives and be exempted from fees paid for land-use rights and rent.

They will also be provided loans worth up to 70 per cent of the construction cost of their project from the Housing Development Fund.

The department has suggested that relocated people will be compensated with a new apartment that has the same area as their old apartment.

Thanh Da apartment buildings

Tran Trong Tuan, director of the city Department of Construction and leaders of the Binh Thanh District People's Committee last Wednesday visited the Thanh Da apartment buildings complex to survey two apartment buildings of the 53-year-old complex in Binh Thanh District's Ward 27.

The two apartment buildings, block IV and block VI, have 285 apartments and are leaning toward each other.

Speaking to the visiting group officials, residents of the two buildings said their apartments had deteriorated.

Apartments on upper floors are leaning and apartments on ground floors are often submerged 30-40 cm under water when there are high tides, they said.

Ho Dac An, who has lived in the apartment No 0.04 of the block IV for more than 20 years, said his apartment floor had fallen three or four inches.

When there are high tides, his apartment is submerged in water and everyone has to wear rubber boots.

Residents said they agreed with the city's plan to relocate households in the two blocks and hope the city will issue compensation policies for the relocation soon.

Since 1996 the city People's Committee has planned to relocate households living in the two blocks.

But it could not find investors they said it would be difficult to earn profits to invest in rebuilding the two blocks.

After the visit, the city Department of Construction and the Binh Thanh District People's Committee, agreed that Binh Thanh District will use the State budget to relocate households in the two blocks.

The city Department of Construction and Binh Thanh District will soon be completed and policies of compensating for relocated households will be submitted to the city People's Committee.

The Binh Thanh District People's Committee said after finishing the relocation of households at the two blocks, the committee will call on investors to rebuild the two blocks that are now empty.

After the two blocks are rebuilt, families living in the other blocks will relocate there. Those vacated blocks will then be rebuilt.

Source: VNS