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Funds holdup stalls dormitory project
A project to build 60,000-70,000 student dormitory rooms in universities in HCM City by next June has stalled because of a lack of capital and site clearance problems.
The project's management board has already spent VND1 trillion (US$52.3 million) that was assigned for 2010, and has asked for an additional VND1.5 trillion ($77 million)this year, HCM City Department of Construction Deputy Director Nguyen Van Danh said at a meeting with the municipal People's Committee last week.
"The management board will not be able to receive an advance on 2011 funding, because these projects belong to this year," Danh said.
The dormitories are being built at four universities in the city's northeast university precinct and Ton Duc Thang University in the south.
Funding for the construction is coming from a larger fund of governmental bonds worth VND3.9 trillion ($204 million).
"The lack of capital will prevent completion of dormitories for the University of Transport and HCM City University of Culture by the June deadline," Danh said.
He said the disbursement of VND1 trillion assigned to the projects by the Government has already been completed.
Danh added that as well as the requested extra VND1 trillion to complete infrastructure at four of the universities' dormitories, the dormitory project of National University in HCM City needs an additional VND502 billion($ 25.8 million).
National University authorities said they needed the money because they were struggling with site clearance, compensation and resettlement for the families who gave up their land for the dormitory project.
Site clearance for the National University project succeeded to take only 28ha of the total 56 ha needed. Many families and companies have refused to surrender their land complaining of low compensation rates and delays in construction of 387 flats for resettlement in adjacent to Binh Duong Province.
The construction delays for the resettlement flats were also a problem caused by site clearance.
The city's steering board for the dormitory development plan has recommended the Government to supplement around VND1 trillion for the project and VND502 billion to the National University.
The board also asked the Ministry of Transport to order the Traffic Work Construction JSC No 68, under the management of the ministry, to give land to the National University for the dormitory construction.
Nguyen Thanh Tai, Deputy Chairman of HCM City People's Committee said every month, the city should complete at least 4,000 rooms to stay on schedule.
He pledged to get the supplement from the Government and deal with the construction of resettlement flats in Binh Duong.
More than half a million students currently study at universities in the city and the number will increase by another 60,000 by 2015 with 70 per cent or 399,000 of them from other provinces.
The demand for dormitories now in HCM City is about 239,000 but only 63,000 are available.
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