HCMC – The HCMC Department of Construction will team up with relevant departments and agencies to remove hindrances the old apartment buildings in the city relating to house rent calculation, temporary residence arrangement, compensation for rehabilitation and calling for investment.
According to statistics, the city now has 15 aging apartment buildings categorized as D level, with the most serious damage, 116 C-level apartment buildings, 332 B-level apartment buildings and 12 apartment buildings which have been dismantled or relocated.
Among 15 D-level apartment blocks, only six have been relocated, while the rest are stuck as residents are refusing rehabilitation.
The city also has 199 apartment buildings built before 1975, which need around VND276 billion for renovation and repair; however, these projects are now short of capital.
According to the HCMC People’s Committee, the relocation, dismantling, and rebuilding of the old apartment buildings face regulatory bottlenecks relating to the use of public investment capital.
The projects’ extension or failure to be executed could cause substantial amounts of compensation costs and temporary residence support costs.
Another problem is that the deteriorating apartment buildings in HCMC are less attractive to investors, though they are located right in the city center.
This is due to the high-density population of these residential blocks, which will cost more for temporary residence arrangements, while newly-built buildings must observe the planning criteria. The investors may, therefore, be concerned about the effectiveness of the investment in these buildings.
The HCMC Department of Construction will propose the municipal People’s Committee allocate VND500 billion to renovate and repair these old buildings if they cannot call for investment.
