Social housing projects are racing to secure housing right from the beginning of the year.

The Prime Minister has just requested the Ministry of Construction, in coordination with the Government Office, to organize a national conference on promoting social housing and the safe and healthy development of the real estate market before February 15th.

Báo Thanh niên•09/02/2025

Right in the early days of the year, many social housing projects received investment approval, signaling a prosperous year for this segment.

A series of projects have been granted investment approval.

On February 1st (the 4th day of the Lunar New Year of the Year of the Snake), while people were still celebrating the holiday, the People's Committee of Binh Duong province held a conference to approve the investment policies for 7 social housing projects, totaling 9,240 apartments with a total investment of 8,468 billion VND. The projects include the Toan My Social Housing Area by Toan My Corporation with an investment of 1,560 billion VND, expected to build 1,204 apartments; the Thai Duong Social Housing Area invested by Thai Duong Animal Feed Company Limited with a budget of 1,123 billion VND, providing 900 apartments; and the Thanh Binh Social Housing Apartment Complex by Thanh Binh Construction and Production Joint Stock Company, with a total investment of 948 billion VND, building 868 apartments.

In addition, the province also approved 4 social housing projects of the Industrial Investment and Development Corporation - JSC with a total investment of over 4,836 billion VND.

The People's Committee of Binh Duong province issued decisions approving the investment policy for 7 social housing projects.

PHOTO: NL

The leaders of Binh Duong province stated that they will strive to implement 26,552 social housing units this year, meeting the government 's target and the approved plan for the 2021-2025 period of 42,000 units.

Also accelerating early, at the beginning of January, the Hanoi People's Committee issued Decision 225 approving 8 social housing projects, with a total of 1,583 apartments and a total construction floor area of nearly 256,000 m2. These projects are concentrated in Thuong Tin, Long Bien, and Hoang Mai districts. In addition, the list includes 7 social housing projects with adjusted planning, totaling 75,366 m2 of floor area, comprising 1,140 apartments. According to the leaders of the Hanoi Department of Construction, from now until 2026, the city has 11 social housing projects expected to be completed with nearly 6,000 apartments, equivalent to 345,000 m2 of floor area.

Meanwhile, the Ho Chi Minh City government is also racing to have 28 social housing projects registered by businesses by 2030, providing 60,000 units. In addition, Ho Chi Minh City is investing in 10,000 social housing units through public investment, bringing the total number of housing units to 70,000.

Not only Binh Duong, Hanoi , and Ho Chi Minh City , but also other localities such as Bac Ninh , Bac Giang , Hai Phong , etc., are racing against time to build and develop social housing. A report from the Ministry of Construction shows that in 2024, the whole country completed 108 projects with a total of 47,532 social housing units. Looking ahead to 2025, based on data registered by localities, it is expected that the whole country will have an additional 135 projects, with more than 100,000 units.

It is evident that, after many years of struggle, the social housing segment has flourished thanks to the deep attention and decisive direction from the Government, accompanied by many more relevant, open, and convenient mechanisms and policies.

A social housing project in Hanoi

PHOTO: KHAC HIEU

Projects that have commenced must be completed by 2025.

Mr. Nguyen Van Loi, General Director of Thien Phat Company, said that his company recently received an investment decision from the People's Committee of Binh Duong province to build nearly 1,000 social housing units. In the following year, the company will invest in an additional 5,000 units, aiming to prioritize social benefits over economic benefits.

"Currently, the Government, ministries, sectors, and localities are very determined to implement this project. The Ministry of Construction is drafting a resolution on preferential credit capital of 100,000 billion VND for the Social Policy Bank to lend for the purchase, lease-purchase, construction, renovation, and repair of social housing. The interest rate of this preferential credit package will be the same as the interest rate for poor households as decided by the Prime Minister in each period. The disbursement period for the 100,000 billion VND preferential credit package will continue until the entire package is disbursed, but not exceeding December 31, 2030," Mr. Nguyen Van Loi cited, adding that he and businesses are very hopeful that this package will be approved soon. According to Mr. Loi, the Social Policy Bank should be entrusted with lending at low interest rates and long terms so that eligible individuals can access the funds, enabling workers to borrow money and buy decent apartments. Once they have homes, their children can live near their parents and have stable education. This is also a way to prepare a young generation, a workforce with a professional work ethic, to serve the high-quality industry.

"We have had preliminary discussions to form a consulting team comprising the Department of Construction, the investor, and the local policy bank to organize the appraisal, verification, and approval of applications on behalf of the people; avoiding the situation where each household carries their documents and runs around seeking verification, which is very difficult. At the same time, the enterprise will sign an agreement with the Social Policy Bank to handle force majeure situations when borrowers fail to fulfill their repayment obligations; the enterprise will handle the repayment on their behalf. The goal is to put the policy into practice and generate more capital for the program. When people have settled down, are prosperous, and every family is well-off, society will also be better," said Mr. Nguyen Van Loi.

According to Deputy Minister of Construction Nguyen Van Sinh, based on data registered by localities, the Ministry of Construction anticipates that over 100,000 social housing units will be completed nationwide in 2025. To achieve this goal, the Ministry of Construction requests that localities regularly monitor and expedite the completion of projects that have already commenced construction within 2025. Projects that have received investment approval should urgently proceed with procedures for selecting investors, allocating land, and issuing land use right certificates. Simultaneously, they should prepare and appraise basic designs and technical designs, and obtain construction permits to commence construction in the first quarter of 2025. For investors in commercial housing projects and urban areas that are developing social housing on 20% of the land allocated, the Ministry of Construction requires these projects to be implemented according to the approved schedule. If the investor fails to implement the project, 20% of the land will be reclaimed to select other investors to carry it out.

Large corporations are participating in social housing projects.

Previously, the Ministry of Construction submitted Proposal No. 02 to the Prime Minister proposing the organization of a conference to promote social housing and the healthy and sustainable development of the real estate market. The conference is expected to have the direct participation of 200 delegates, including experts, representatives from the Vietnam Real Estate Association, the Ho Chi Minh City Real Estate Association, and many large real estate companies nationwide such as Vingroup, Sun Group, Novaland, Hung Thinh Land, Becamex IDC Binh Duong, CEO Group, Him Lam, Capital House, Capitaland, Viglacera, HUD, Ecopark, etc.