HCMC – Party General Secretary To Lam has underscore the need to establish a national housing fund to make more affordable homes available in major cities.
He was speaking at a meeting with the Central Policy and Strategy Committee on February 24, reported the Vietnam News Agency.
Urban areas should serve as key drivers of economic growth, he said and called for policies to improve real estate market liquidity while boosting capital inflows. His proposals include upgrading urban infrastructure, developing a national digital land mapping system, and creating a financial framework to support affordable housing development.
The Ministry of Construction reported progress on the Government’s plan to build one million social homes. As of January, 645 projects have been launched, with 581,218 housing units. Of these, 96 projects with 57,652 units have been completed, 135 projects with 115,630 units are under construction, and 414 projects with 407,936 units have received approval.
However, a VND120-trillion credit program for affordable housing has faced slow disbursement. While banks have pledged over VND4 trillion in loans, only VND2.36 trillion has been disbursed. Developers have received VND2.16 trillion, while homebuyers secured just VND198 billion.
In response, the Government has instructed the Ministry of Construction to implement a VND30 trillion credit package, with half the funds sourced from Government bonds and the remainder from local budgets.
Despite these efforts, it is still hard to gain access to funding sources. The Ministry of Construction noted that bureaucratic hurdles, high interest rates, and inconsistent capital availability continue to slow progress.
