On the afternoon of October 3, Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee Nguyen Van Duoc chaired a working session with Lotte Properties HCMC Company Limited on issues related to the Thu Thiem Eco Smart City project.
At the meeting, the Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee said that immediately after receiving the document from Lotte Properties HCMC, the city leaders proactively met and listened to the investor's opinions.
Then, on September 12, the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee issued Document No. 1758 to the Prime Minister, clearly stating two recommendations of enterprises: exemption from the application of additional fees of 5.4% according to Decree 103/2024; at the same time, allowing the adjustment of share ownership ratio among member companies in Lotte Group as well as attracting more external investors with a maximum rate of 35%.
Mr. Nguyen Van Duoc further informed that the Government has issued a document requesting relevant ministries and branches to study, report and give opinions on the above recommendations.
The city leaders highly appreciate the prestige, capacity and enthusiasm that Lotte has put into the project. I hope Lotte will continue to accompany Ho Chi Minh City and make recommendations to the Government to remove difficulties and facilitate the project - Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Peoples Committee emphasized.
On the business side, Lotte representative affirmed that after internal exchanges and especially after receiving the report from the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee to the Government, the company agreed to continue making recommendations and proposals to have opportunities to implement the project. If the recommendations are resolved, we are committed to implementing the Thu Thiem Eco Smart City project, said a representative of Lotte.
A notable issue at present is that the notice of land use fee payment has been issued by the Ho Chi Minh City Tax Department and is effective.
Mr. Phan Van Dung - Deputy Head of the Ho Chi Minh City Tax Department said that up to this point, the late payment fine (calculated at 0.03%/day) has reached about 120 billion VND.
At the meeting, Lotte proposed to temporarily suspend the notice's validity while waiting for the Government to consider. However, the leader of the Tax Department said that there are currently no regulations on this, so the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee needs to clearly state the content of the petition sent to the Prime Minister for consideration.
At the end of the meeting, the Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee emphasized that the city is always steadfast in the spirit of openness to receive, listening, and accompanying investors; at the same time, affirming that Ho Chi Minh City is determined to build a safe, reliable and attractive investment environment.
The Thu Thiem Eco Smart City Smart City Smart Complex project is invested by Lotte Properties HCMC Company Limited under Lotte Group (Korea). The project has a total investment of VND 20,100 billion, built on a land area of 74,513 m2, of which the project development area is about 50,000 m2. Regarding land use structure, in 7.4 hectares, there are 1.4 hectares of residential land; 2.6 hectares of commercial and service land for lease; and 2.45 hectares of traffic land without land use fees.
According to the plan, the project consists of 11 towers with 5-50 floors, arranged into commercial, service and luxury apartments. The project is located in the most prime location in Thu Thiem. After the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee issued a decision on land allocation and land lease, in early September 2022, Lotte Properties HCMC held a groundbreaking ceremony.
However, due to legal problems, the project has not been able to start construction. After 8 years since signing the investment contract and 3 years since the groundbreaking ceremony, the Thu Thiem Eco Smart City project still does not have a clear shape.
