City adjusts planning for Thu Thiem resettlement areas

A resettlement project in Thu Thiem new urban area in HCM City’s District 2 has been converted into a commercial housing project. VNA/VNS Photo Quang Nhut

The request came after Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc approved the Government’s inspection of the 160-ha resettlement area in the Thu Thiem project in the city’s District 2.

Speaking at a recent meeting on the new urban area, Nguyen Thanh Phong, chairman of the municipal People’s Committee, asked the Construction Department to allow 3,790 out of 12,500 resettled apartments to be converted to commercial housing units. Previously, all of the apartments had to be for resettled households.

He also asked the departments of Finance and Natural Resources and Environment to reassess the value of the 3,790 resettled apartments and organise another auction for them.

No investors showed any interest in bidding for the 3,790 apartments when they were put up for the auction by the city government in February.

Regarding the proposal to build a walking bridge across Sai Gon River, which would connect District 1 and Thu Thiem new urban area, under a Build-Transfer (BT) investment model, Phong said the Đại Quang Minh Real Estate Investment Joint Stock Company should submit at least three options for the bridge construction.

For the Thu Thiem 2 Bridge project (under the BT model), Phong asked the Department of Natural Resources and Environment to work with agencies to prepare a draft of the project for the city government.

The city authorities will then ask the Ministry of Defense to direct Ba Son One Member Company Limited and Naval Region 2 Command to hand over land for the bridge to investors.

For the smart complex project, Phong has agreed with the city’s Council for Architecture and Planning that the maximum height of the complex should be from 50 to 60 floors and that the ground floor should remain at 120,000 square metres.

In addition, Phong has assigned the city’s Department of Planning and Investment and the Ministry of Planning and Investment to help De Vuong Company with procedures to develop the Observation Tower complex.

For the Thu Thiem 4 Bridge, the chairman of the city has asked the Department of Planning and Investment to publicise information about the project and call for investors under the form of public-private partnerships (PPP).

The only company that has expressed interest in the bridge project is the joint venture Phát Đạt Company - Company 620 - Company 168 - IPC Company. If no other company shows interest within a certain period of time, the company can go ahead with the project, Phong said.

He has asked the company to conduct a pre-feasibility study.

To make way for the bridge project, the Department of Planning and Investment has been told to proceed with the relocation of Tân Thuận Port in District 7.

In addition, the chairman has asked Thu Thiem Investment and Construction Authority to work with the Department of Natural Resources and Environment to proceed with land allocation or land lease to Sài Gòn Development One Member Limited Liability Company for partial payment of the Tân Sơn Nhất - Bình Lợi - Outer Ring Road construction project.

Covering a total area of 657ha, the Thu Thiem new urban area is located on Thu Thiem peninsula in HCM City’s District 2, which faces downtown District 1 across the Sài Gòn River.

Approved by the Government in 1996, the proposed financial district and mixed-use urban area of HCM City is set to become the largest inner-city development in Southeast Asia.

To develop such a project, it has taken more than 10 years to complete site clearance of most of Thu Thiem peninsula, with nearly 15,000 households already resettled.

More than 99 per cent of land in the proposed area has been cleared.