South Korean entrepreneur with deep attachment to Vietnam

The project is a key ingredient in transforming Hanoi into a world class capital

The project developer T.H.T Development Company Limited’s general director Lee Kwon Sang  shares his thoughts with VIR about the project and his feelings about the Lunar New Year in Vietnam.

Despite three decades with Daewoo E&C working in diverse regions, few projects have occupied Sang’s mind from the onset like the West West Lake project.

Sang came to Vietnam at a time when the West West Lake project was conceived. He then joined the project’s planning process and after some interruptions he came back to Vietnam when the project left the drawing board and took on the post of general director at T.H.T Development.

Sang’s total dedication to the project has quickly become a source of inspiration to all other staff at T.H.T Development.

“He never asks the staff to work as much as possible. Instead, he urges us to mull how to get optimal work efficiency,” said the company’s Administration and Human Resources director Lee Sang Min.

Sang said through residing and working in Vietnam and especially after spending two years enjoying the traditional Lunar New Year (Tet), he has uncovered more than 100 similarities in Vietnamese and South Korean customs. It ranges from a year-end reunion and sharing the first meal in the New Year, to worshiping ancestors and giving lucky money to kids.

Sang said a good grip of Vietnamese culture and people has benefitted his work, but things do not always go smoothly.

The $314 million project was initially developed by a consortium of five Korean companies  and was licenced in February 2006. It has since been delayed due to investors’ reshuffle and land clearance difficulties.

Recently, four co-investors decided to transfer their stakes to Daewoo which became the only investor to develop the 207 hectare project covering parts of Hanoi’s Tay Ho, Cau Giay and Tu Liem districts. Besides, like many other property development projects in Vietnam, land acquisition was a thorny issue of the West West Lake.

“But, I think land acquisition is a common problem even for local investors as Vietnam is in the process of gradually enhancing its policies and mechanisms on trade and investment. I never doubted the project’s success. The West West Lake is a long-term project with specific targets and we will strive to find out the most suitable ways to reach the set targets,” he added.

In the context of accelerating the project amid the current gloomy property market, Sang said the West West Lake was a mega project that could not be finalised within several years. The project has ambitious plans to match Vietnam’s development in the next decades in step with local people’s increasingly affluent lives.

“In the past two decades, Vietnamese people kept talking about Daewoo Hanoi Hotel as a symbol of modernity and comfort. In the next two decades and later years I hope they will talk of West West Lake urban township as a new lifestyle symbol,” Sang said.

In Sang’s words the West West Lake project will accommodate Hanoi’s new financial and economic centres and important cultural and historical venues such as Thang Long Theatre and a historic museum. It will feature office buildings, commercial centres, luxury hotels, residential areas and parks.

Hence, the West West Lake is expected to stand out as a masterpiece symbolising Vietnam-South Korea friendship and cooperation in the next decades.

Lee Kwon Sang talks about his life and work in Vietnam. 2012 is the Year of the Dragon. What are your wishes for the Lunar New Year? I wish things to  flow smoothly. 2012 is also a year of Vietnamese and South Korean friendship so I wish our two countries would evolve steadily in the New Year and our project symbolises the two countries friendship would make rapid progress matching our countries’ expectations. What are your comments on Vietnamese food? It is very good and I can take almost all Vietnamese food. I am particularly fond of bun cha (vermicelli and grilled meat), nem cuon (spring rolls) and pho (noodle soup). Especially, gia cay (a food resembles dog-meat taste) with shrimp paste is my favourite food. What locations in Vietnam have impressed you the most? I came to many scenic spots in Vietnam such as Halong Bay, Tam Coc Bich Dong and the Perfume Pagoda. Each region has its own specialties such as Hung Yen with delicious longan, Thanh Tri with steamed rolls made of rice flour, and Xuan Dinh with sapodilla. I love Xuan Dinh sapodilla because of its delicious taste and that we do not have this fruit in South Korea. Besides, the fruit is the speciality of the West West Lake project area. I often introduce the fruit to my friends. You have a thorough grasp of Vietnamese culture. Have you ever been in an awkward situation? In my first Tet in Vietnam, I thought there were only three days off like in my home country. In the morning of the third Lunar New Year day I brought some papers to a competent state agency to get the procedure done, but to my surprise there was nobody in the office.