Vingroup might get one more stalled parking lot project in HCMC
Ho Chi Minh City authorities are considering handing over a multimillion-dollar parking lot project that has been in limbo for more than a year to real estate conglomerate Vingroup.
If the transfer of the project at Hoa Lu Stadium in District 1 is approved, it will be the second such project that Vingroup will be taking over in the downtown area where around 10 underground parking lots have been planned for a decade, with most never making a start.
The company will build a five-storied lot beneath the stadium at a cost of nearly VND3.42 trillion (US$149.51 million) over the next three years.
 |
| Motorbikes and cars move on a Ho Chi Minh City street. Photo: Diep Duc Minh |
Originally, another property developer, Indochina Group, had planned to build the parking lot at a cost of around VND1.6 trillion. But late last year it pulled out, citing the projected low return on investment.
Earlier this year Vingroup was handed over another lot, this one at Tao Dan Park, which had been delayed since last year after state-run industrial real estate developer IDICO dropped it reportedly due to financial reasons.
The project was expected to cost over VND1.4 trillion.
With the country's largest number of motorbikes and cars, which is expected to rise 10% a year, Ho Chi Minh City desperately requires more parking lots.
But in recent years, work began on only one, an underground lot at Le Van Tam Park in District 1. The developers of most of the others wanted to call it quits, blaming the city's red tape and restrictions.
In response to these complaints, in July the city sought the central government's permission to scrap limits on parking fees to increase returns for investors.