VietNamNet Bridge – The HCMC government has warned relevant agencies of fast population growth in the east of the city as this trend could cause social and economic problems.

A traffic jam in HCMC. Traffic congestion is now chronic issue in HCMC, especially in areas with fast urbanization – Photo: Uyen Vien/SGT

In districts 2, 9 and Thu Duc, the pace of population growth is faster than that of infrastructure development.

According to a recent report of the office of the HCMC People’s Committee, the city’s vice chairman Nguyen Huu Tin met with relevant agencies earlier this month and warned of the stronger rise of new residential areas in the eastern part than elsewhere in the city.

The population in the eastern districts has grown faster than envisaged in the approved urban zoning plans, and the development of infrastructure for the districts, Tin told the meeting held to discuss the zoning plan of scale 1/2000 for Binh Trung Dong urban area in Cat Lai, District 2.

In the past two years, many big real estate companies including Khang Dien, Novaland, Thuduc House and Nam Long have carried out dozens of housing and urban area development projects.

Previously, real estate companies concentrated on land lot projects, but many of them have switched to apartment projects as more traffic infrastructure projects have been put into use in the eastern part.

Novaland alone has a host of projects including Lexington and The Sun Avenue with a total of nearly 10,000 apartment units in the eastern districts.

According to a report on Thu Thiem new urban area released by CB Richard Ellis Vietnam (CBRE), apart from Dai Quang Minh Real Estate Investment Company’s Sala project comprising hundreds of villas and townhouses, and 5,600 luxury apartments, other major housing projects have been approved in the eastern part.

In June, Empire City Limited Liability Company, a consortium of Tien Phuoc Real Estate JSC, Tran Thai Real Estate Co. Ltd. and Denver Power Co. Ltd., got approval to develop an Empire City complex at a cost of US$1.2 billion. The project consists of an 86-storey building, a five-star hotel, a shopping mall and an office building on an area of 15 hectares.

Le Van Nam, former chief architect of HCMC, told the Daily that the east has experienced abnormally fast growth in residential area development. As a result, Mai Chi Tho Street and the HCMC-Long Thanh-Dau Giay Expressway have been under pressure from more housing and urban area projects that are up and running.

Nam said it is necessary to have residential area projects in the east to help ease overpopulation pressure in the inner-city areas, but the population growth should match the development of infrastructure.

To ensure sustainable development for the east, Tin assigned the municipal Department of Zoning and Architecture and other relevant agencies to adjust the urban zoning plan for the whole city with priority given to the city’s outskirts, including districts 2, 9,12, Tan Phu, Binh Tan and Go Vap.

SGT