The Ministry of Construction has just submitted a statement to the Government on the implementation of investments in some social housing projects in order to prevent economic recession, maintain economic growth and guarantee social welfare.
Explaining the necessity of these projects, Deputy Minister of Construction, Mr Nguyen Tran Nam believes that since the State currently does not have direct housing support policies for people with low income and poor households in urban areas while enterprises just pay attention to developing commercial housing projects for people with high income and rich households, those with difficulty in housing in urban areas, especially in such large cities as Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City do not have enough financial power to improve their accommodation.
The implementation of social housing projects from state budget aims at reaching such basic goals as creating housing fund to meet urgent demand of people with low income and with difficulty in accommodation but cannot afford to arrange accommodation for themselves and their families. Early implementation of these projects is an important and necessary measure to contribute to social security and welfare.
The implementation of investment projects to construct housing aims at pushing investment demand and creating favourable conditions for the development of other industries and sectors in the economy. As calculated by the Ministry of Construction, the construction of 500,000 square metres of housing floor will consume 120,000 tonnes of cement, 30,000 tonnes of steel and many other materials. On the other hand, investment in social housing construction will help generate job for tens of thousands of labourers of the construction sector and other related sectors.
Mr Nguyen Tran Nam emphasizes that “the implementation of investment projects to build social houses from the state budget will help form state property asset fund. The exploitation of this fund will ensure capital collection via collecting renting fee and purchasing fee according to the Housing Laws. Furthermore, during the exploitation of this fund, this housing fund will not wear out but will still belong to the State’s ownership.”
According to the regulations, people who are entitled to rent and purchase accommodation have to meet requirements on average monthly income as regulated. Those who are prioritized to purchase include state officials, military officers and professional soldiers serving in the army. The maximum renting time is five years. When the term is due, if the renting party wishes to continue to rent, s/he is required to conduct procedures confirming that s/he is still in the group allowed to rent social housing. The total renting period is not allowed to exceed 15 years.
Though the social housing projects are highly social, in fact, localities implementing this type of projects are performing in a very slow manner. Up to now, hardly any locality has a housing fund to allow renting and purchase according to the Housing Laws. As such, the Ministry of Construction has proposed the Prime Minister to directly lead some pilot projects in some urban areas with urgent demand for accommodation. During the implementation, the Ministry of Construction will implement some pilot projects in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. Part of the investment capital will be extracted from state budget.
In two years of 2009 and 2010, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City will make investments in some 10,000 apartments (equivalent to 500,000 square metres of floor). Among the above figure, 5,000 apartments will be for workers and 5,000 ones for households with low income and difficulty in arranging accommodation. These apartments will help arrange housing for some 60,000 people in the two cities. These apartments will get built on a land fund of some 30 – 40 hectares, total investment falling around VND2,500 billion.
According to the Ministry of Construction, after pilot social housing projects get completed, these housing funds can possibly be transferred to the authorities of these two cities. The construction of social houses will help satisfy the urgent demands for accommodation of those who have low income, running into difficulty in arranging accommodation but do not have enough financial strength. Once completed, these houses will also help guarantee social security and welfare.
Luong Tuan
Vietnamese
