In 2007, HCM City authorities released a map of golden land plots, covering an area of 50 hectares, and called on investors to develop large projects there.
However, to date, only four projects on the land plots have been exploited, while the others have been left idle or have changed hands frequently.
To resolve the problem, HCM City authorities have focused on some key projects, including a project at 164 Dong Khoi street, Binh Quoi-Thanh Da urban area and the auction of nine land plots in Thu Thiem.
However, analysts say that it has not been easy to find investors.
The Binh Quoi-Thanh Da urban area project has been pending for 25 years. The complexity of investment procedures have driven efforts to ‘rescue’ the project to a standstill. Investors have shown ‘willingness’, but cannot implement the plan.
Vo Van Hoan, chief Secretariat of the HCM City People’s Committee, mentioned difficulties the project is facing at the 2018 year-end meetings.
Hoan said domestic enterprises were not capable of taking the project and the city had to call for joint ventures with foreign investors.
The foreign investor the committee was eyeing was a Dubai state-owned enterprise with high capability and responsibility. However, there were still questions from the investor. How much is needed for compensation for site clearance? When will clean land be given to the investor? What is the land use fee?
“Foreign investors want transparency,” he said, adding that other foreign investors had also raised similar questions.
The local authorities have now assigned Bitexco as the investor of the project. However, the questions remain unresolved.
Bitexco is also encountering site clearance problems for a project in the Nguyen Cu Trinh area. The investor has received approval from local authorities, but has not received land.
Bitexco is a big real estate developer. Its Bitexco Financial Tower is among the Top 10 most attractive places in HCM City, according to the city’s culture department.
One important golden land plot which needs to be “rescued” this year is located at 164 Dong Khoi. Hong Kong Land and Sumitomo won the bid to develop the project. However, they later gave up the project because of questions about the land-use right fee.
A golden land plot along the main road leading from HCM City to Tan Son Nhat International Airport is also waiting investors.
According to a report on Vietnamnet.
