HCMC – The HCMC Department of Finance has rejected repeated petitions from the Empire City developer to recalculate its financial obligations, confirming the project must pay over VND8.8 trillion in land use fees.
At a press briefing on September 25, the department said a new assessment raised the project’s land use obligations by more than VND5 trillion compared to previous calculations. The increase mainly applies to land plots 2-13 to 2-21 in the Thu Thiem New Urban Area, bringing the total to VND8.8 trillion.
Empire City, developed by Empire City Limited Liability Company (a joint venture), has submitted multiple requests for a review. However, the Finance Department said the land valuation was carried out in compliance with regulations by the Department of Agriculture and Environment and the city’s Land Valuation Council, leaving no grounds for adjustments.
According to the department, no other projects have faced similar difficulties from rising land use fees. Land valuation and assessment processes have also cleared their backlogs.
Earlier, the developer had proposed recalculating the VND8.8 trillion obligation based on the land handover date in 2015 and Circular 36/2014.
Data from HCMC authorities shows that specific land pricing for 153 projects this year is expected to generate more than VND86 trillion in revenue. Still, several projects remain stalled or leave prime plots idle in central districts, raising concerns over wasted resources.
To address the issue, the city has set up a special task force led by the chairman of the People’s Committee to review and resolve obstacles facing projects. In early August, the city also launched a plan to categorize pending projects and assign government agencies to handle them directly.
