Hanoi People’s Committee last September issued a decision approving the investor consortium composed of Viglacera Corporation, Hoang Thanh Infrastructure Investment and Development, and Central Construction JSC.

The project covers an area of nearly 45 hectares, with a total investment capital of VND9.3 trillion, of which nearly VND617 billion is allocated for compensation for site clearance and resettlement. The land fund dedicated to social housing construction is over 13 hectares, while commercial housing is over 3.3 hectares.

The total contributed capital from the three investors is VND1.5 trillion. Of this, Viglacera accounts for the largest share with VND825 billion (55 percent), Hoang Thanh  VND450 billion (30 percent), and Central VND225 billion (15 percent). They will mobilize an additional approximately VND7.8 trillion to implement the project.

Upon completion, the project will have more than 3,100 social housing units, 427 commercial apartments, and 99 low-rise houses. Other components of the project include schools from preschool to secondary, service facilities, and commercial works.

Also in Phuc Thinh, not far from Tien Duong 1, is Tien Duong 2 project with a total investment of over VND6.8 trillion, built on a land area of over 14.6 hectares. Upon completion, the project will have 3,458 units, including 3,344 social housing ones.

Social housing units of both projects must be completed by 2030 as requested by the municipal authorities.

Hanoi People's Committee has recently issued a decision to allocate land in Phuc Loi ward (formerly Long Bien district) to Him Lam JSC which will develop a social housing project. The land area, covering over 7.5 hectares, has completed site clearance.

Social housing units will be developed on five land plots with a total area of nearly 4.7ha. The investor is exempt from land-use fees for this area. The project will also allocate more than 1.5ha for building schools and 1.3ha for transport, green spaces, and infrastructure.

Him Lam must put the land into use within 12 months; if delayed, they may be granted a maximum extension of 24 months.

Supply of social housing in Hanoi is showing signs of recovery, but selling prices continue to rise. Since late last year, many social housing projects in Hanoi have continuously broken ground. This year, the city expects to complete six projects in suburban areas with more than 4,700 units, priced from VND18.4 million to VND29.4 million/sqm.

On the afternoon of December 3, the Hanoi Public Administration Service Center organized a dialogue conference with the public on resolving difficulties for people buying social housing.

One of the issues of public concern is the existence of the so called ‘diplomatic slot’ which is understood as ‘under-the-table quota’ or ‘insider allocation’.

Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Anh Tuan, Deputy Head of the Cybersecurity and High-Tech Crime Prevention Division (Hanoi City Police), affirmed that "these types of alleged insider slots absolutely do not exist."

Regarding concerns that ward and commune police lack clear guidelines to verify income for informal workers, a mandatory document in social housing applications, Lieutenant Colonel Le The Tung from Hanoi Police said that under Decree 261/2025, commune-level police have seven days to verify income conditions for informal workers without labor contracts. However, implementation has faced difficulties because the national population database does not yet contain income information for this group.

He said that Hanoi Police have required agencies to provide all available data, especially residency information, to support the public. If any inconvenience or obstruction occurs, city police will intervene immediately.

He added that for informal workers living locally, income verification is compulsory for social housing applications. Hanoi Police have reported the issue to the Ministry of Public Security for more detailed instructions.

He asked departments to continue organizing sectoral data to enrich the national population database and facilitate administrative services.

At the dialogue, residents asked about procedures for drawing lots to buy or rent social housing. At the Rice City Long Chau project, the investor organized a lucky draw for apartment sizes, resulting in single applicants receiving large units while families of four or five drew smaller units.

Le Quang Huy, Deputy General Director of BIC Vietnam JSC, said that on November 24 the investor held a lottery for eligible applicants. The project includes various sizes ranging from 30sqm to 77sqm.

Hong Khanh