HCM CITY – All the land needed to develop the Thủ Thiêm urban area in HCM City’s District 2 must be acquired this year, People’s Committee Chairman Nguyễn Thành Phong has told the project management board.

Nguyễn Thế Minh, deputy head of the New Thủ Thiêm Urban Area Project, said acquisition of 84 properties had been delayed, and early last year the People’s Committee had instructed relevant authorities to settle their owners’grievances.

The delay in acquiring the lands affected local residents, hindered investment promotion and construction works, and increased expenses related to resettlement, he said.

It also delayed construction of Thủ Thiêm Bridge No 2, he said.

The Thủ Thiêm Area includes 150 plots of land measuring 185ha earmarked for investment projects and public works.

Some of the investment projects are already underway, including infrastructure work at a 38.4ha resettlement area in Bình Khánh Ward, four major roads on the peninsula, the central square and riverside park, and a model eco-park.

Other projects that have been approved are an embankment around the peninsula, Thủ Thiêm Bridge No 2, an artificial central lake and canals.

Minh sought the People’s Committee’s instructions on what to do with unsold apartments built for households moved out of the area.

The project management board plans to build 10,529 apartments, of which  4,903 have been completed and handed over to the District 2 People’s Committee.

But only 3,296 have been bought by resettled families, with the rest remaining unsold, causing a huge financial and administrative burden for authorities.

Phong said city authorities would find a solution to the problem.

Phong instructed the management board to identify investors for 26ha of land the city owns on the peninsula.

He called for linking the peninsula’s infrastructure with those of other areas in District 2.—VNS