Bitexco ready for a big mountain to climb

The artist’s impression of the Manor Eco+ Lao Cai

The high-profile developer, which has until now dedicated itself to high-end property developments in the downtown Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, last week broke ground for the construction of a township in Lao Cai province, 330 kilometres northeast of Vietnam’s capital.

The Manor Eco+ Lao Cai project will feature 441 villas and townhouses and 500 apartments. Construction will take three years and the cost of development is to come in at $72.5 million. This is the first modern township project in the province of Lao Cai, which borders China.

Bitexco chairman Vu Quang Hoi accepted that the company initially found it challenging to develop a modern township in this mountainous province because of its distance from Hanoi. He said the local market had not been on the radar screen of real estate developers because of a perceived lack of demand for high-end housing in the province.  However, Hoi said he was confident of the success of the project. “There are a number of local residents demanding luxury residences while we have also received demand from investors in Hanoi,” said Hoi.

He said the project had been designed with commercial purposes in mind with 300 villas and townhouses having ground floor shop fronts and upper floor residences.

“With this design, the project will become a busy trading area in the northern border area as Lao Cai is part of Hanoi-Kuming economic corridor and the Hanoi-Lao Cai expressway is under construction,” said Hoi.

The Manor Eco+ Lao Cai is just part of the business Bitexco is conducting in Lao Cai. The enterprise also has a firm foothold in the local mining exploitation and processing industry and plans to develop a large US-designed resort in Sapa, according to Hoi.

Bitexco has started construction of its new northern township at the time when the real estate market is still in something of a slump. But, Hoi said this was the best time to start construction of the Manor Eco+ Lao Cai project as the current Lao Cai property market was similar to the Ho Chi Minh City property market of more than 10 years ago when the company started developing The Manor Saigon.

“At that time few people believed in the success of The Manor Saigon, but now the project is considered one of the most liveable development in Ho Chi Minh City with property values having increased five times since construction started. I believe that The Manor Eco+      Lao Cai will also enjoy the same success,” said Hoi.

A 160sqm villa at the Manor Eco+Lao Cai will bear a price tag of around VND4 billion ($193,200). “This is the lowest price that we can offer at a time the real estate market is dormant. I am totally confident that the value of the project will increase quickly,” he said.

Bitexco also plans to start construction of its 55-storey Ben Thanh Twin Tower complex in Ho Chi Minh City by the end of this year, and this is expected to house the first Ritz-Carlton hotel in Vietnam.

Established in 1985, Bitexco is the developer of many large-scale property projects in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City including the 68-storey Bitexco Financial Tower, the Manor Hanoi and Saigon residential complexes and the five-star J.W.Marriott Hotel in Hanoi.