The housing projects for workers of the Hoa Cam industrial complex in Hoa Tho Tay Ward of Cam Le District, has the Da Nang Confederation of Labor as its main investor.
The project’s first phase was built from 2018 to 2021, and cost over VND77 billion ($3.28 million) from the city's budget.
The project opened in October 2020 with three blocks, spanning 278 single rooms and seven double rooms. It has provided accommodations for around 600 workers.
Among the block, one has around 70 occupied rooms, while the other two blocks are still empty.
Workers need to apply for housing in the apartment complex, and their applications must be approved.
Hoang Minh Hieu, 27, a worker of Vietnam Tokai, a Japanese automobile manufacturer, has been renting a 16 m2 room for the past three years. The toilet takes up 2.5 m2, the balcony 1 m2, and the rest is for cooking, sleeping and living.
Hieu's wife, 26-year-old Pham Thi Minh Thoi, is also a worker at the Hoa Cam industrial complex. Both husband and wife mainly work the day shift, before returning home at around 5 p.m. While Thoi prepares dinner, Hieu plays with their 4-year-old daughter.
Every month, the couple pays VND350,000 (US$14.90) as rent, water and electricity are not included. Towards the end of the day, when multiple families use water at the same time, the water flow is poor.
Hieu celebrates his wife's birthday on May 17.
"Due to the tight space, we blow candles at home and invite friends out to a restaurant for more space," he said. He said they wanted to get rid of some belongings to make more room, but nothing was expendable.
The couple said they save around VND500,000 every month in rent by staying in a room provided by the city instead of renting a place outside. But they hope to make the place more spacious by connecting rooms so their daughter can have their own desk when she grows up.
Several other workers also want places at the complex but the rooms are too small. Two entire blocks at the complex are still empty, despite the cheap rents.
The room of Le Thi Anh Nguyet, 35, who works for an electronic company, is full of belongings. She is 5-month pregnant with her second child. Despite the summer heat, she and her husband do not dare buy an air conditioner due to the high electricity bills.
At a meeting with National Assembly delegates, the Da Nang People's Council and the labor confederation on May 12, several workers said the 16 m2 rooms were too small for their families.
Le Van Dai, deputy head of the Da Nang labor confederation, said the rooms were intended for one to two people. But most workers would rent them for the entire family.
The confederation has proposed the Da Nang authorities expand the rooms to 36 m2 each.
Nguyen Van Hoa, 45, a worker at the Central Area Electrical Mechanical Joint Stock Company, rents a 19 m2 apartment in the complex through random selection. The room is one of the four biggest ones in the block.
However, he still has had to create an extra 'attic space' spanning 3 m2 so that his daughters have a space to sleep.
"I don't dare to buy beds or tables and chairs. At night, when the girls are asleep, me and my wife sleep on the floor," he said.
Nguyen Huynh Bao Chau (in yellow shirt), a 3rd grader, studies as her mother cooks. Her sister, 5-year-old Nguyen Huynh Bao Ngoc, plays above.
Hoa and his wife are worried about where to put Ngoc's desk when she enters primary school next year.
The rent is VND508,000 per month, to be paid every three months. Both Hoa and his wife make over VND10 million a month.
Hoa said the place might be small, but it helped save money to raise their children.
"If the room is wider but more expensive, it would be tough for us," he said.
The complex is most festive at the end of the day, when workers and their children return home.
Nguyen Thi Chien, 38, from Thanh Hoa, takes care of her neighbor's children so they can cook dinner.
"It's stuffy living here, but we take care of each other. We are all workers, so we support others in taking care of the kids, cooking and sharing life's burdens," said Chien, who works at a plastic factory.
The apartment complex has five floors. Workers have proposed an elevator to be installed.
Tran Van Hoang, deputy director of the Da Nang Department of Construction, said the cost to expand the rooms and install elevators would be around VND15.8 billion.
After work, workers tend to their vegetable and fruit garden in front of the complex.
Pham Van Thanh, 49, who manages the complex, said the area used to be full of weeds. He called for workers' help to remove the weeds and plant vegetables instead.
Rooms on the first floor of both blocks are currently uninhabited, with many rooms being double ones spanning over 40 m2. Thanh said the city wants four of the double rooms to be rented.
"We proposed that workers living here be prioritized for auction, as in many families, the husbands work while the wives stay home," he said, adding that he hoped there would be convenience stores and food stalls for workers in the future.
Next to the garden is a yard with manual machines for exercising. The workers often rest at home after work, so few use them.
Thanh said the neighborhood lacks a playground for children, as well as nurseries, meaning families have to send their children somewhere else.
"I hope there would be ball houses or slides for the kids. There are now around 100 children living here, but there's a severe lack of playgrounds," she said.
