HCM City will allocate land to build resettlement apartments for households living in degraded apartments—VNA/VNS Photo Xuân Đăng

HCM CITY—   HCM City authorities have a new solution to attract investors to participate in apartment renovation projects. 

In cases where the buildings will be demolished, investors will be given the land to build new structures for other purposes in exchange for the construction of resettlement buildings in an area near the old buildings.

The city's People's Committee has authorised district People's Committees to implement the projects under the direction of the city's Department of Construction.

The city government will pilot this new solution in District 3.

Đỗ Minh Long, head of District 3’s Urban Management Department, said the district had 49 apartment buildings in disrepair.

The district has completed compensation and relocation of households living in D grade apartment buildings at Võ Văn Tần Street in District 3.

The city’s People's  Committee has approved the relocation of households in nine degraded apartment buildings in the district to the residential-commercial centre project at Lê Văn Sỹ Street in District 3.

The nine apartment buildings will be converted from residential land to commercial, service, office and hotel functions.

In addition, the district authority will relocate households living in small apartment buildings in District 3 to the Nguyễn Thiện Thuật residential apartment complex in the district.

Investors will then be able to use the land on which the small apartment buildings are located for new office buildings, hotels, or supermarkets.

The city has 474 apartment buildings built before 1975, including 15 grade D condo buildings now unsafe for living.

The city aims to upgrade or demolish 237 degraded apartment buildings by 2020. However, the city has only arranged VNĐ57.1 billion (US$2.4 million) for 132 buildings due to difficulties in relocating households.

The city has completed the dismantling of six apartment buildings with a total area of ​​108,741 sq metres, completed the construction of two new apartment buildings with 876 apartments, and is building two buildings with a total of 878 apartments.—VNS