With a new set of politicians in office, Saigon's urban housing will see some changes in the coming year.
Last Thursday, at a conference hosted by the Ministry of Construction, officials from the municipal Department of Construction proposed to demolish 14 old apartment buildings over the next five years, reports Saigon Giai Phong.
The conference was held in an effort to promote Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc's recent directive, which instructs Vietnamese cities and provinces to review and assess the structural safety of aging housing and public works in urban areas. This assessment is expected to reach completion by the end of the year.
Of Saigon's nearly 450 apartment blocks which were built before 1975, most have just 30% occupancy and 12 of these structures are viewed as unsafe, including the apartment block at 11 Vo Van Tan in District 3 as well as the building at 6bis Nguyen Tat Thanh in District 4.
However as one set of buildings face demolition, the city's Department of Construction is also planning to implement 39 new social housing projects, according to Saigon Giai Phong. These developments, which will be built between now and 2020, are expected to create 44,700 new apartments in Saigon, covering an area of 140 hectares.
So far, eight such construction projects have begun and will create 4,200 new apartments; another 12 developments have also been approved, expecting to yield 11,700 apartments. The city recently opened six social housing projects, and officials expect to make available another 252 apartments for low-income residents by the first quarter of 2017.
