88 Central project is slow to develop: Is the investor "forgetting" customer rights and avoiding responsibility?

More than 5 years since customers signed a contract to purchase an apartment at 88 Central, the investor has not yet implemented the project as committed, deliberately "forgetting" the customer's rights?

After many years of not being implemented, the area where the 88 Central project is being implemented is overgrown with grass and trees as high as a person's head. Photo: TH

Reflecting to Hanoi Moi Newspaper, representatives of customers who signed contracts to register to buy apartments at the 88 Central shophouse component project (abbreviated as 88 Central), in the Berjaya - Handico12 Residential and Commercial Area, Long Bien Ward said: Since 2020, about 80 customers have signed contracts to register to buy apartments at 88 Central by Berjaya - Handico 12 Joint Stock Company, and have paid 10% of the apartment value according to schedule. However, more than 5 years since signing the contract, the investor has not yet implemented the project as committed, deliberately "forgetting" the customer's rights.

The project was abandoned and wasted for many years.

Following the people's feedback, Hanoi Moi Newspaper reporters went to the area where the 88 Central project is being implemented, part of the Berjaya - Handico12 Residential and Commercial Area project (commercial name is HaNoi Garden City), Long Bien ward, Hanoi , invested by Berjaya - Handico 12 Company Limited (now Berjaya - Handico 12 Joint Stock Company).

On October 8, observing inside the area where the 88 Central project is expected to be implemented, the reporter noticed that there was no construction activity. Because the project had been abandoned for many years, the grass and trees grew as high as a person's head. Outside the fence, the tarpaulins with pictures and advertising letters about the project had also faded over time, many sections were torn and collapsed, looking very desolate.

The tarpaulins with printed pictures and advertising information about the project hanging outside the fence have faded over time, many parts are torn and unsightly. Photo: TH

Talking to reporters, Mr. Ngo Thanh Phong, the buyer of apartment C2-18, representing customers buying houses at 88 Central, said: “We signed a contract to register to buy a house in 2020 with the investor and were committed to issue a notice of signing a real estate sale and purchase contract to customers by December 2020 at the latest. If the investor fails to issue a notice by the deadline, the time will be automatically extended by 90 days. Because of trust, the households paid money (10% of the apartment value, equivalent to about 1 billion VND/apartment) into the investor's account as committed. However, after more than 5 years from the date of signing the contract to register to buy a house, the project is still just... an empty lot.”

Mr. Nguyen Tuan Anh, who bought apartment C2-35, was upset: “In 2022, the investor issued Official Letter No. 06/2022/CV-MKT dated June 10, 2022, announcing the time to sign the apartment sale and purchase contract at 88 Central. In it, the official sale and purchase contract signing time can be implemented in the first quarter of 2023, so everyone is excited and hopes that the project will be implemented soon. However, up to now, the contents stated by the investor in the letter are still "on paper". The slow implementation of the project has caused customers to feel insecure and worried about the future of their residence."

According to the reporter's investigation, the two founding shareholders of the HaNoi Garden City project are Handico 12 Joint Stock Company and Berjaya Leisure (Cayman) Limited. The project is being implemented on an area of ​​over 31.6 hectares in the old Thach Ban ward, now Long Bien ward. The project was granted an investment certificate in 2007 and is expected to become a high-class urban area in the old Long Bien district.

However, after many years of implementation, currently, HaNoi Garden City has only built 2 high-rise apartment blocks, about 175 garden houses and technical infrastructure around the area. The remaining area, including the 88 Central component project, is still left... overgrown with grass, a waste.

Although the project has not been implemented, many customers have bought, sold, and transferred apartments, and the purchase and sale has been approved by the investor.

Suggest investors to soon dialogue with customers

According to information from Mr. Vu Van Tu, the buyer of apartment C1-52 of the 88 Central project, in the announcement of changes in business registration content posted publicly on the National Business Registration Information Portal, the investor of HaNoi Garden City was transferred from a limited liability company to a joint stock company with the following shareholder structure: Green Hill Investment - Construction Joint Stock Company; Viet Duc Trading and Investment Company Limited; Dong Thinh Phat Land Investment Joint Stock Company.

However, since the capital contribution transfer transactions were made, customers have not received any official notice regarding the change of shareholders or ownership structure of the enterprise, or any document showing the commitment to inherit the legal obligations for the home purchase contracts signed with customers.

“After many times sending petitions to the authorities, on July 21, 2025, Deputy General Director of Berjaya - Handico 12 Joint Stock Company Tran Thanh Long signed Official Dispatch No. 20/TB-BH12 to customers buying houses at 88 Central. Accordingly, the investor committed to respond to customers with information related to the implementation of the signed contract by August 31, 2025, but nearly 2 months have passed, the investor is still "silent", said Mr. Ngo Thanh Phong, the buyer of apartment C2-18.

HaNoi Garden City project implementation area, Long Bien ward. Photo: TH

To get information to answer readers, on October 8, a reporter from Hanoi Moi Newspaper went to the headquarters of Berjaya - Handico 12 Joint Stock Company located in the HaNoi Garden City project, Long Bien ward to schedule a meeting, but the security guard refused to let them in after many attempts. The reporter asked for the phone number and name of the company's leader to contact for work but was also... refused.

On the same day, the reporter scheduled a meeting with the Long Bien Ward People's Committee to clarify the citizen's complaint, but up to this point, he has not received a response.

The silence, lack of transparency and lack of information disclosure to customers from the investor and the successor shareholders have caused many customers who bought apartments at the 88 Central project, HaNoi Garden City to suffer great financial losses when the money they saved their whole life, even borrowed to deposit to buy a house, is now "stuck" in a project with no signs of implementation.

We hope that the competent authorities of Hanoi city will soon investigate and verify the legality of the project, the reasons for the project's delay, and solutions to overcome them, etc., to ensure the rights of customers buying houses at the project.

Hanoi Moi Newspaper will continue to update information related to the reflection at the 88 Central project.

Source: https://hanoimoi.vn/du-an-88-central-cham-trien-khai-chu-dau-tu-quen-quyen-loi-khach-hang-tron-tranh-trach-nhiem-720121.html