Will Saigon’s notorious “ghost tower” escape its doomed destiny?
Tuoi Tre reports that the Saigon One Tower on Ton Duc Thang Street will be auctioned off in the near future in order to take care of its mounting debt of more than VND7 trillion (US$307 million). The Vietnam Asset Management Company (VAMC), the unfinished structure’s current owner, announced the auction last Thursday.
In the statement, VAMC says that the tower’s future owner will be entitled to 14,954 square meters of the building, including the residential, commercial and office floors, alongside the basements and any other supporting amenities. The starting price of Saigon One Tower auction will be VND6.11 trillion (US$268 million).
It’s unclear at this point when and where the event will happen as the asset agency is still looking for an auction house to conduct the buyout.
Last August, VAMC seized control of the Saigon One Tower in District 1 as collateral after its investor failed to repay the massive amount of debt. Construction on the project started in 2007 with an initial investment of US$256 million. While it was originally set to finish in 2009, by 2011, only 80% of the project was complete. The initial investor abandoned the project due to funding issues and the tower has remained untouched since. Read the story behind the building here.
