AsemconnectVietnam - Bitexco Group is still pursuing a project to develop Binh Quoi-Thanh Da urban area in Binh Thanh District, HCMC although its joint venture partner Emaar Properties PJSC has quit, a representative of the group told the Daily on July 20.

Vo Thi Phuong Uyen, vice chairwoman of Binh Thanh District, on Wednesday briefed head of the HCMC government office Vo Van Hoan on the Binh Quoi-Thanh Da urban area project. She said foreign investor Emaar Properties PJSC had announced to quit the project, so the project has not been able to get started though the project has been included in the district’s land use plan since 2016, the news website www.chinhphu.vn reported.

According to the Land Law, within three years after the project is put into the land use plan, the acquisition of land must be completed or the project will have to be adjusted or cancelled.

The Binh Quoi-Thanh Da urban area project was approved by the People’s Committee of HCMC in 1992. In 2004, the city allowed the Saigon Construction Corporation to invest in the project, but no progress on the project had been made.

Until late 2015, the joint venture between Bitexco Group and Emaar Properties PJSC was picked to develop the project at a cost of about VND30.7 trillion (about US$1.35 billion), all for infrastructure development. However, Bitexco announced that the foreign partner has walked away and it now seeks to develop the project on its own. 

Binh Quoi-Thanh Da urban area project earlier captured huge attention and was expected to be complete in due time because Emaar Properties PJSC is a leading real estate company in Dubai while Bitexco is also a capable investor, which is evident in a number of large-scale projects in HCMC such as Bitexco Financial Tower and Spirit of Saigon project.

The project covers a total area of 427 hectares. According to the plan, it will be developed in three phases.

In phase one, from 2016 to 2020, the investor will complete site clearance and basic infrastructure. Functional areas will be developed in phase two, from 2021 to 2025, and the whole project is scheduled to be complete in phase three, from 2026 to 2030.

Source: thesaigontimes.vn