Divisive urban proposal

Tan Hoang Minh Group has poured investment into several projects across Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, Photo: Le Toan

According to the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee, the long-delayed project requires at least $1.35 billion for land clearance, compensation and infrastructure development, excluding the expenses needed for developing accommodation and other facilities.

Nguyen Thanh Phong, Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee, said that due to its large stake in the project, a new capable investor must be carefully selected.

The committee asked that the Ho Chi Minh City Planning and Investment Department work alongside Tan Hoang Minh to review all proposals and in turn report back to the committee. The group’s partners have recently submitted a proposal to the committee to attend the upcoming auction to select the investor in the long-delayed Binh Quoi - Thanh Da project.

A source from the Ho Chi Minh City’s Planning and Investment Department said that Tan Hoang Minh is now implementing all preparation works. This includes the project development capacity and financial capacity to participate in the auction and the plan to further develop the project in the future.

Tan Hoang Minh is a domestic real estate developer who currently owns a range of luxury projects in both Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. However, a couple of projects have been transferred to other investors following a long period of delays. Although the group’s website lists four high-end residential projects which are selling for the price raning from VND45 million ($1,950) and VND120 million ($5,220) per square metre, only one of them is currently finished and ready to be put into operation.

In a recent case, many buyers of Tan Hoang Minh’s project D’Capitale in Hanoi refused to pay for their condos claiming that the quality was not “high-end” as advertised. Many buyers felt that the project was of a lesser quality than expected and not worth the price rise from VND43 to 50 million ($1,869 to $2,173) per sq.m. The dispute is yet to be resolved, with the Hanoi Department of Construction last week teaming up with the group to inspect the project on behalf of the buyers. D’Capitale is not the first project by Tan Hoang Minh to prove troublesome. Previously, in 2009, Tan Hoang Minh started the D’s Palais De Louis in Hanoi and announced that the project would be of the utmost luxury with many items being decorated with gold. The project was then sold at the price of VND145 million ($6,300) per sq.m. However the project moved at snail’s pace and, in 2014, Tan Hoang Minh was forced to return the deposits of 600 buyers because they were unable to complete the project on time. The project was reopened in 2016, this time with the participation of Vingroup.

The Binh Quoi - Thanh Da Urban Area project was first awarded to Saigon Construction Company in 2004 as a 426-hectare development in Binh Thanh district, Ho Chi Minh City. In 2010, Bitexco Group acquired the project in cooperation with Dubai’s Emaar Properties.

However, the twists and turns for the project did not end when in 2017, Emaar Properties pulled out of the project, claiming delays to land clearance and compensation issues as its reasons. Bitexco wanted to press on with the completion of the project alone, however, the committee decided to call for new investors.