Happy to have my own apartment
“The day I packed my belongings to my new house, I cried because of happiness. The day I welcomed my paternal and maternal grandparents to visit, seeing the elders happy, I cried again.
After more than 10 years of working as workers, living in a rented house, my husband and I finally got to hold the keys of the house in our name," Ms. Phan Thi Thanh Ha (35 years old) shared her happiness as she was about to celebrate her first Tet in her new house.
Ms. Ha and her husband came from Hai Phong to Bac Ninh to work as workers for more than 10 years. Throughout that time, they rented a room more than 10km from the company, far away and cramped.
3 children were born one after another, the rented room could no longer be filled, but the whole family had to accept it because they could not gather enough money to buy land plots or commercial apartments.
Fortunately, in 2023, my husband and I read newspapers and saw information about a social housing project right next to the company. I completed the procedures to register to buy a house, sent it to the Bac Ninh Department of Construction and it was approved very quickly.
Since then, my husband and I have been happy, both paternal and maternal grandparents are also happy and joined hands to contribute money to support us to return this house directly. Until today, my family has moved into a new house for more than 4 months," Ms. Ha shared.
Ms. Ha's apartment is located in the Cat Tuong Smart City and Thong Nhat Smart City social housing projects in Tam Da commune, Yen Trung commune (Bac Ninh province), 200m from Yen Phong industrial park.
The apartment is 70m2 wide, has a living room, a kitchen, a balcony, 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. With a price of more than 1 billion VND, Ms. Ha said that "everything is satisfactory".
Near Tet, the apartment brightens up with parallel sentences, 2 peach blossom vases and smiles always radiant on the couple's faces.
If there were no social housing policy, I wouldn't dare to dream that I would have a house like this," Ms. Ha shared.
In the first house of the couple, Ms. Ha meticulously cared for every detail. In addition to the balcony, she also planted a few more flower pots to add color to the living space.
The house is also much larger than the old rented room, the couple left a whole empty room "waiting" for grandparents to come over to visit.
Since we bought the house, grandparents from both sides often come to visit. The elderly are also very happy and excited," Ms. Ha added.
Seeing Bac Ninh as a second homeland
Having just moved to live in the Cat Tuong Smart City and Thong Nhat Smart City social housing areas for a few months, Mr. and Mrs. Mai Xuan Thang are also busy decorating their house to welcome Tet.
When we arrived, the couple was preparing for the Year-end worship ceremony.
For the first time welcoming the New Year in a house in my name, I want to report it to my ancestors," Mr. Thang shared.
The man from Thanh Hoa worked as a worker in Yen Phong Industrial Park (Bac Ninh) for many years.
Previously, he and his wife rented a room far from the company for about 4 million VND/month. With preferential loan policies for social housing and reasonable prices, the monthly installment amount is only slightly higher than the rent, so his family's living expenses are almost not affected.
“My house is near the company, so every day I save nearly 1 hour of travel time. That time I spend taking care of my family, resting, and regenerating labor,” Mr. Thang said.
Living on the 9th floor of the same building, Ms. Le Thi Son (61 years old) came from Nghe An to help her son and his wife take care of their grandchildren. Not long after leaving, Ms. Son became acquainted with almost all the paternal and maternal grandmothers in the same building.
“Here, most of the children are workers, sometimes they are all friends from the same company. We share the same situation of grandma taking care of grandchildren, so we started talking very quickly. People say apartment life is in the city, but I still feel like I'm in the countryside, the neighbors are friendly and happy,” Ms. Son said.
Ms. Son commented that the space around the apartment complex is modern, safe, fully equipped and still retains its freshness, no different from her village.
Every day, when the children went to work, Mrs. Son often carried her grandchildren down to the apartment building's yard to play, or visited new friends' houses to chat.
I advise my son to stay in Bac Ninh this year to celebrate Tet, considering this as his second homeland," Ms. Son said.
Target of 20,000 social housing units in 2026
Ms. Ha and Mr. Thang's family is just one of thousands of households benefiting from the fruits of social housing development in Bac Ninh.
In 2025, this locality completed nearly 20,000 social housing units, accounting for about 20% of the country's total supply.
In 2026, Bac Ninh was assigned by the Government the target of 19,000 social housing units, higher than Hanoi, but the province sets a target to continue completing over 20,000 units.
Mr. Nguyen Tuan Dung - Deputy Director of Bac Ninh Provincial Department of Construction - said that the locality determines that social housing development is not only an infrastructure task, but also a long-term social security policy, directly linked to stabilizing the labor force, attracting investment and sustainable development of industrial parks.
Social housing must be truly worth living - with community living space, schools, essential services and a safe environment. When workers consider Bac Ninh as their second homeland, that is the greatest success," said Mr. Nguyen Tuan Dung.
