Dreams behind the door of the rented room
In the late afternoon, Ms. Tran Thi Mai (from Gia Lai), a garment worker at Tam Thang Industrial Park, holding her young child, stood in front of a row of rented rooms located deep in a narrow alley in Ban Thach ward, Da Nang. Her husband had not returned from work yet, dinner was prepared hastily on a mini gas stove placed close to the room door. The room of less than 12m2 was the living space of the whole family of three.
When the child sleeps, my husband and I sit huddled by the edge of the bed eating rice. One day the child had a fever, the room was too hot, when we carried him outside, there were mosquitoes, when we carried him inside, it was suffocating. We didn't dare to pick up our mother from the countryside to help take care of the child, because the room was too cramped," Ms. Mai said.
Each month, the couple pays nearly 2 million VND in rent, not including electricity, water and living expenses. When the factory has many jobs, the income is temporarily enough to manage. But just reducing shifts, children getting sick or landlords reporting price increases, the whole month's expenses have to be calculated in installments. Ms. Mai's husband - Mr. Pham Van Tai - works as a mechanical worker. For more than 8 years of leaving his hometown to work in Da Nang, he has moved houses many times.
In the boarding areas around Tam Thang Industrial Park (with nearly 10,000 workers), the story of Ms. Mai and her husband is not unique. Many young worker families are still living in cramped, hot rooms, lacking living space.
More support for workers to stick with
Chu Lai Open Economic Zone alone currently attracts 142 investment projects and investment cooperation agreements with about 24 thousand workers. About 60% of these workers are renting houses from people at prices from 1.5 - 4 million VND/person/month (average usable area from 2-3m2/person). Therefore, investing in stable housing for workers in the area is extremely urgent and necessary, helping workers stabilize their lives and feel secure at work.
One of the notable projects solving housing needs in this area is the worker housing project in An Hoa Bay Urban Area, Nui Thanh commune of Danatol Joint Stock Company started in 2025. Phase 1 of the project has 538 apartments, total investment of 493.5 billion VND, land area of nearly 1.3ha. Apartments have an area of 40 - 70m2, expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2026.
An Phu apartment complex in An Phu New Urban Area, Quang Phu ward has also just been deployed on an area of about 20,000m2, with a scale of 700 apartments, total investment of nearly 600 billion VND. It is expected that by the fourth quarter of 2028, the project will be completed and put into operation.
According to the Da Nang City Department of Construction, the income conditions for buying and renting social housing in the city are adjusted according to Decree 136/2026 on social housing development and management. Specifically, single people with an income of less than 25 million VND, or households with a maximum of 50 million VND/month are eligible to register to buy social housing in Da Nang.
Vice Chairman of Da Nang City People's Committee Tran Nam Hung emphasized that the city is strongly attracting industrial investment, especially in the Southeast region. However, along with that development, there is great pressure on housing for workers. Therefore, social housing and worker housing projects need to be promoted, ensuring quality and having effective management and operation plans so that when the project is completed, people can soon move in, promoting the right social security goals.
For Ms. Mai and her husband, a affordable apartment is still a story of the future. But when social housing and worker housing projects were implemented, that hope had a more specific address. "I just hope that later my child will have a corner to study, and my husband and I will have a stable place to rest when we go home from work. Having a house, I can feel secure in sticking to work, sticking to the city" - Ms. Mai said.
