In 2026, Ho Chi Minh City will accelerate the construction of social housing.

On October 3, the Ho Chi Minh City Association of Architects held a seminar and launched a contest "Design ideas for social housing models towards sustainable solutions".

Scene of the discussion and launching of the contest "Social housing design ideas towards sustainable solutions". Photo: THANH HIEN

Many social housing projects will be started.

At the seminar, Mr. Tran Si Nam, Deputy Director of the Department of Construction of Ho Chi Minh City, informed that in 2025, two social housing projects were completed in Ho Chi Minh City with more than 1,500 apartments. Currently, Ho Chi Minh City has 11 social housing projects under construction with a scale of more than 11,800 apartments. At the same time, there are 17 projects that have been approved for investment with a scale of more than 13,900 apartments. Ho Chi Minh City aims to hold groundbreaking ceremonies for nearly 20 projects in the last 3 months of 2025. In particular, there are currently about 10 land plots with an expected number of nearly 4,200 apartments to serve home buyers such as the police and military.

“According to statistics in the period 2021-2024, Ho Chi Minh City has a low number of social housing put into use. The reason is that the construction process of a project must carry out land preparation, procedures... However, from 2026, with the number of projects being implemented as present, Ho Chi Minh City will accelerate. Because the project preparation stage, we have almost completed", Mr. Tran Si Nam shared.

Mr. Tran Si Nam, Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Construction, spoke at the seminar. Photo: Thanh Hien

Previously, the Department of Construction reported to the People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City on social housing planning. To continue this work, from October 1, the People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City assigned the Department of Planning and Architecture to implement the planning. Thus, Ho Chi Minh City has now clearly planned each area for social housing so that investors can participate.

Regarding finance, according to the orientation, the Government together with provinces and cities are establishing a housing fund. The main objective of the housing fund is to support the construction of social housing. It is expected that by early November, the Government will issue regulations on this housing fund. Accordingly, the source of the housing fund will be used from 20% of the social housing fund in commercial housing development projects or from the source of mobilizing contributions from social organizations and investors. This fund is used to develop social housing without being integrated into the capital of Ho Chi Minh City and has an independent management unit, connected with banks to support housing policies.

Need to synchronize infrastructure

Speaking at the seminar, Architect Tran Thai Son, General Director of Asia Architecture Construction Company Limited, stated: in terms of planning vision, this design competition needs to clearly define which subjects the social housing design serves. Accordingly, it can be divided into two groups, one is workers, people working in industrial zones; the other is people working in state agencies. Dividing groups of groups helps investors calculate how much area the apartment needs to be designed, how to design it appropriately... to ensure output.

Experts and architects speaking at the seminar. Photo: Thanh Hien

At the seminar, Architect Nguyen Minh Binh, Dong Nai Province Architects Association informed that it is expected that this year, Dong Nai province will complete about 10,000 social housing units. From 2025 to 2030, the province will strive to build about 65,000 units, while Dong Nai province's demand is about 120,000 units.

“Currently, Dong Nai as well as some other provinces and cities, the rate of social housing development is still low. In my opinion, there are still some problems such as the lack of synchronization of technical infrastructure and social infrastructure for building social housing. This leads to individual social housing projects not being able to survive, because they cannot use the same services of a large area,” said architect Nguyen Minh Binh.

Competition "Social housing model design ideas towards sustainable solutions"

At the seminar, the Ho Chi Minh City Association of Architects launched a competition for “ideas for designing social housing models towards sustainable solutions”. The competition is directed and sponsored by the Ministry of Construction and organized by the Vietnam Association of Architects.

Regarding requirements, the design of apartment buildings, low-rise houses, and individual houses is developed in the form of sale, lease, or hire-purchase with the goal of providing stable housing for priority and low-income groups. At the same time, when building social housing, investors receive support from the State through specific mechanisms and policies.

Contestants: Architects, consulting organizations, investors, contractors, material manufacturers... domestic and foreign. Submission deadline is November 20, 2025. Total prize value up to 1 billion VND.

THANH HIEN

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/nam-2026-tphcm-se-tang-toc-xay-dung-nha-o-xa-hoi-post816161.html