Saigon wasteland to get $6 bln facelift

By Trung Son August 3, 2016 | 11:29 pm PT

Investors aim to turn a deserted part of the city into a green space filled with world-class architecture.

Authorities in Ho Chi Minh City have recently approved a new ecological park project worth $6 billion to be built in a barren part of the city at the confluence of the Nha Be and Saigon rivers.

Van Thinh Phat Group Corporation - a private property developer - will be the project's major investor. It has signed a cooperation agreement to develop the green urban park with foreign partners, including Malaysia's Pavilion Group and Genting Group.

The project, named Saigon Peninsula, will cover a total area of nearly 118 hectares (292 acres) in Phu Thuan Ward in District 7, and will include a multi-functional park, an international cruise terminal, office towers, villas, apartment blocks and hotels.

It is expected to contribute to Vietnam’s tourism industry, create over 30,000 jobs for local people and attract more potential foreign partners to invest in the city and country in general.

Pavilion Group will lead the planning of a luxurious shopping mall combined with a 5-star hotel, high standard apartment blocks, deluxe resort villas and class A office towers. Genting Group will build the international cruise terminal, which is expected to be the largest passenger port in Vietnam.

Beside the Saigon Peninsula Project, the investors are also looking at several other multi-billion urban infrastructure projects in HCMC.

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