Positive change but too far from the target
Sharing with Lao Dong Newspaper, a representative of the Ministry of Construction said that from 2021 to the end of 2024, 644 social housing projects have been implemented nationwide with a scale of 580,109 units. Number of completed projects: 96 projects with a scale of 57,652 units; number of projects that have started construction: 133 projects with a scale of 110,217 units; number of projects that have been approved for investment policy: 415 projects with a scale of 412,240 units.
Regarding the support capital of 120,000 billion VND according to Resolution No. 33/NQ-CP, up to now, 36/63 provincial People's Committees have issued documents announcing projects eligible for preferential loans on the electronic information portal (16 projects have been granted loans with a total credit commitment of 4,200 billion VND, outstanding debt of 1,727 billion VND).
In general, the results of social housing construction investment nationwide have had positive changes compared to 2023, however, the Ministry of Construction has not yet completed the target of social housing construction in 2024.
With the current progress, many people are concerned that the goal of building 1 million social housing units by 2030 is still far away.
Few positive signs
Mr. Nguyen Van Dinh - Real estate legal expert commented that the project to build 1 million social housing units for a 10-year period (from 2021 to 2030) has completed 40% of the journey but the speed is very slow and there are not many positive signs to be able to complete the project on time.
This expert said that social housing is currently mainly implemented by enterprises and with private capital, so the success of the Project depends mainly on the initiative of enterprises. However, currently, real estate enterprises still "complain about difficulties" when building social housing because the legal procedures are complicated, more difficult than commercial housing projects. There are many difficulties and obstacles that discourage enterprises, of which, the 3 biggest obstacles are identified as land fund, capital source and legal procedures.
According to Associate Professor Dr. Dinh Trong Thinh - Senior Lecturer of the Academy of Finance, achieving the target of 1 million social housing units is a difficult problem. Local authorities need to be proactive in determining which projects are social housing projects to prioritize rapid site clearance, provide suitable materials and meet the requirements that investors desire.
Associate Professor, Dr. Dinh Trong Thinh said that for many years, capital has always been a problem that has caused investors a “headache” and concern. Therefore, to facilitate businesses in borrowing capital to develop social housing, the interest rate of the VND120,000 billion credit package should be lowered to below 6% for investors and below 4.5% for home buyers.
Along with that, banks need to further reduce interest rates for home buyers and increase lending to home buyers; lending procedures need to be simplified. Not only that, localities also need to have specific mechanisms and solutions, shortening administrative procedures in project establishment, approval, land allocation, land lease, site clearance, construction investment procedures, etc. Thereby supporting and encouraging businesses to participate in investing in the construction of social housing projects, creating supply for the market.
A representative of the Ministry of Construction said that this year, the focus will be on implementing the Prime Minister's Decision on implementing Directive No. 34-CT/TW dated May 24, 2024 and promoting the Project to build 1 million social housing units in the 2021-2030 period. In 2025, the Ministry aims to complete over 100,000 social housing units.
