Ocean Park high on wave of office sites to hit Hanoi

Ocean Park is designed to meet a surge in demand for Hanoi office space

The $18-million Ocean Park building, at the intersection of Giai Phong and Dai Co Viet Street, will open in May with floor area of 35,000 square metres.
Another building, the Artexport, will open its doors in the next few weeks at 31-33 Ngo Quyen street.
Ocean Park was started by Vietnam Shipping Lines in 1997 amid the regional economic downturn that drove away various foreign property developers in Vietnam. The company was however determined to proceed with the project, the biggest office building by a Vietnamese company in the capital.
In the past, most commercial properties in the city were built by foreign investors or joint ventures.
Nguyen Hong Minh, director of the Hanoi Property Management Company, Ocean Park’s project manager, says the building’s facilities will meet Grade A standards while its staff have been trained for more than one year to serve customers.
It would benefit from the scant supply of large office buildings in the city, Minh says.
Demand is expected to grow as more foreign-invested projects are returning to Vietnam and companies in Ho Chi Minh City are planning to open representative offices in Hanoi.
Foreign companies are finding it difficult to find large floor space as most upmarket buildings in Hanoi have high occupancy rates while Ever Fortune Plaza, a Taiwanese-built office block in Ly Thuong Kiet Street, with 35,000sqm, is still in the foundation stage.
“Several multinational companies have already signed up to lease space in our building,” Minh says.
Market research by Hanoi Property Management showed that by the end of 2003, most of the 20 major buildings in Hanoi had occupancy rates of more than 90 per cent.
Many Grade C buildings have been 100 per cent occupied for a long time.
Artexport in Ngo Quyen street with Grade A facilities has drawn strong interest from tenants due to its prime location near Hoan Kiem Lake.
Though it is yet to open, only its eighth and ninth floors are still vacant. Public rental rates are about $23 a square metre.
Hanoi Property Management research also revealed strong demand for Grade C office space due to attractive rental rates and expansion plans by local companies.
Average rental rates for Grade C are between $9 to $13 a square metre compared to $15 to $17 for Grade B and $19 to $21 for Grade A.