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Thu Thiem is yet to take root
Ho Chi Minh City’s giant Thu Thiem new township has yet to become hot property. According to Thu Thiem management board, the 657-hectare site has welcomed just three foreign-invested projects despite more than 200 investors having visited the area.
The licensed projects include a 4ha residential area backed by Korea’s GS E&C Corporation, the 5.5ha Vietnam-Japan (Vija) Brain Park and the 19.5ha Thu Thiem Software Park.
However, the software park - developed by Saigon Telecom Joint Stock Company and TA Associates International Pte - was experiencing hiccups, said Nguyen Le Dung, deputy director of the management board.
The $1.2 billion project has seen little progress since it was licensed in 2006 and got off the ground in July, 2008.
The joint venture had proposed to pay just 30 per cent of the project’s total land rental fees first with the rest to be paid during the next three years. It also wanted to narrow the project’s development area to just three slots fronting the East-West Boulevard to better increase its investment effectiveness.
The city’s authorities have required the investors to keep the original development area and pay the city at least 60 per cent of rental fees to continue the project.
“The city is trying to attract more high-tech projects by offering the investors as many incentives as possible. But we [the city’s authorities] have yet to see any appreciation from investors so far,” said Dung.
The investors’ low interest and poor performance resulted from financial problems, which led to time-consuming land and payment term adjustments, Dung said.
According to the board, the Vija Brain Park project is the most active project so far with its investor, Vietnam-Japan Human Resource Development Joint Stock Company, shows clear willingness to step forward.
Since starting the project’s construction in December 2008, the investor has paid $10.5 million, 50 per cent of the project total’s land rental fees, and is allowed to develop the project in line with payment terms.
Meanwhile, GS E&C Corporation’s residential project was still stuck due to a lack of infrastructure and snail’s paced land clearance work, Dung said.
The Thu Thiem urban area was endorsed in 1996, aiming to become a dynamic and diverse urban centre to accommodate 130,000 people and create total floor space of more than 6.2 million square metres.
vietnamnet, VIR
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