HCMCity (VNA) -  HCM City’s Party Secretary Dinh La Thang hasurged local authorities to consider implementing a social housing policy thathas helped attract more investors in Binh Duong province.     

Thang said that HCM City wanted to provide morehousing to lower-income workers, but that implementation had been difficult asinvestors were often reluctant to pour money into such projects.

Thang asked Binh Duong province’s authoritiesduring a recent meeting in the province to help HCM City officials develop abetter social housing policy. 

He said that administrative procedures on suchbuildings, which usually contain apartments of 25-35 square metres, could be asstreamlined as those used for commercial housing.   

Tran Thanh Liem, vice chairman of Binh Duong’sPeople’s Committee, said that 25 out of 43 social housing projects in theprovince had been completed and put into use, with a total area of 491,000 sq mand an average price of 4 million (177.8 USD) per sq metre.

The Investment and Industrial DevelopmentCorporation (Becamex IDC) is the main investor of social housing projects inthe province, which has 2 million people, 52 percent of whom are migrants fromother provinces and cities.

Liem said the province, before providing land toproperty companies to build social housing, ensured that all people affected bynew housing projects received compensation payments.

Around 200 enterprises in the province’sindustrial parks have built a total of 270,000 sq m of housing space for theirworkers.

Liem said the province had issued regulations,as part of its industrial development plan, that require land be set aside forhousing for workers.

The province has also streamlined administrativeprocedures for investors in social housing.

Nguyen Van Hung, CEO of Becamex IDC, said thatregulations for social housing eligibility should be adjusted and that anyonewho has job but who has never owned a house should be allowed to buy socialhousing.

The vice chairman of HCM City People’s Committee,Le Van Khoa, said the regulated maximum profit for investors in social housingof only 10 percent was too low to attract investors.

Hung said that Becamex IDC was not yet earningprofit from its social housing projects in the province, but expected to seeprofits over the long term.

He said that companies willing to wait forprofits over the long term should work with the government to offeraccommodation for workers.

Most social housing projects in Binh Duong provinceare near urban areas and industrial parks, which attract a large number ofworkers.

This, in turn, helps attract investors who wantto open companies and factories in urban areas and industrial parks built byBecamex IDC, the representative said.-VNA