Once a pioneer in developing social housing
According to Mr. Vo Van Minh - Chairman of Binh Duong Provincial People's Committee, in the period 2011-2015, the whole province built 9,200 houses to provide accommodation for about 37,500 workers.
In the period of 2016-2021, the province has 17 more projects to provide accommodation for about 200,000 workers. Notably, the social housing type implemented by Becamex IDC Corporation has each unit having an area of 25-60 m2, selling price of each unit from 100-300 million VND/unit. This is the type of social housing that is considered the most "popular" in Binh Duong, because it is affordable for workers in difficult circumstances. As a leading province in developing social housing, however, in the past 3 years, the development of social housing in Binh Duong has stagnated.
According to statistics from the People's Committee of Binh Duong province, from 2021 to now, there have been only 6 social housing projects with 1,643 units. Currently, the demand for social housing of workers in the cities of Thuan An, Di An, Thu Dau Mot, Tan Uyen is very large, but there is no supply. The People's Committee of Binh Duong province said that it is forecasted that from now to 2030, the number of workers in Binh Duong with the demand for social housing will be about 129,000 units.
Investors and buyers face many difficulties
According to Mr. Vo Van Minh - Chairman of Binh Duong Provincial People's Committee, the province's newly approved social housing development project has pointed out difficulties and limitations. Among them, it can be mentioned that the current preferential policy on social housing development has not created a big difference with local commercial housing.
In addition, assets for home buyers have not been formed. Enterprises and organizations are not interested in investing in social housing due to many complicated procedures and contents, and low profits.
Regarding the slow progress of investors in building social housing, according to the Department of Construction of Binh Duong province, there are still no strong enough sanctions to require investors to build social housing in commercial housing projects. The policy to attract investment is not suitable, and there is no policy to support investment in connecting infrastructure.
The investors also said that they encountered many difficulties in implementing social housing projects. In Binh Duong, Kim Oanh Real Estate Group Joint Stock Company has built hundreds of adjacent social housing units and is continuing to invest in building Hoa Phu social housing (Thu Dau Mot City) with more than 3,000 units.
According to Ms. Dang Thi Kim Oanh - Chairwoman of the Board of Directors of this company, first of all, land fund is a big obstacle. Another problem is land price for social housing projects. Ms. Oanh suggested that there should be clarity and transparency in land valuation between land funds allocated by the State and land funds purchased by enterprises themselves. Regarding legal procedures, Ms. Kim Oanh shared: "Although there are separate regulations for social housing, in reality, administrative procedures have not been shortened, leading to a prolongation of project completion time. This affects the investment efficiency of enterprises".
The binding regulations are not only a barrier for investors but also make it difficult for buyers. Currently, to ensure living expenses, workers have to work overtime to earn income. However, when their income reaches the personal income tax level, they are not eligible to buy social housing. In addition, there are constraints on beneficiary conditions such as permanent address, insurance payment period, and loan. It is also very time-consuming to complete procedures to prove these conditions.
Binh Duong issues many policies to support investors in building social housing
The People's Council of Binh Duong province has issued a resolution stipulating the support mechanism for the implementation of social housing investment projects in Binh Duong province. There are many policies such as: Support 50% of the cost of building technical infrastructure systems within the scope of social housing projects (not exceeding 5 billion VND/project); 100% exemption from construction permit fees; 100% exemption from environmental impact assessment report appraisal fees; 100% exemption from environmental permit appraisal fees. The Provincial People's Committee will also review, simplify internal administrative procedures and eliminate unnecessary procedures for social housing projects, and at the same time, establish a specialized or semi-specialized department to manage social housing to support investors.
