A number of real estate projects with investment of more than one trillion dong (US$43 million) in the centre of Ho Chi Minh City remain delayed even while the land area for new projects in the city has become increasingly limited.

According to the city’s Department of Construction, contractors of these delayed projects are facing problems receiving permission to convert the land use to other purposes.

Ho Chi Minh City Real Estate Association head Le Hoang Chau said the inconsistency between the Land Law and the Planning Law, as well as other conflicts between laws, have also contributed to delays.

Chau said the construction permit issuance and construction design evaluation process should be combined to shorten the time for granting construction permits.

Many real estate projects have been delayed since 2015.

The Alpha Town project located at 289 Tran Hung Dao Street in District 1, a mall-service-office and apartment building, started construction in 2010. The project with total area of 4,000sqm has been suspended since then.

The Lavenue Crown project at Le Duan Street in District 1, a 4,900sqm project, was slated to become a luxury hotel, but the vacant land plot, where a building that once stood on the plot was demolished, has been used as a parking lot for years.

VIET NAM NEWS