Deserted 3,790-apartment project up for auction in HCMC

The Binh Khanh Relocation Area, completed in 2015 in Thu Duc City, is part of a 12,500-apartment relocation plan for the people of the Thu Thiem Urban Area, whose properties were acquired by the city.

But as the relocated residents were either unable to pay for the apartments there or could not wait for construction to finish, almost no one has been living at the project for the last seven years.

HCMC constructed the buildings with parks and swimming pools, hoping to make it an ideal “template” for future relocation plans. But for the last several years it has failed three times to auction the project, each time finding no interested buyer.

The first auction was held in 2017 with a starting price of VND8.8 trillion ($370.96 million). As apartment prices rose, HCMC in the 2018 auctioned it for VND9.1 trillion and in 2021 at VND9.9 trillion, or VND2.6 billion per apartment.

During Covid-19 the project was used as a field hospital with 2,650 apartments quarantined. The hospital, however, has not been used for over a year and its entrances are blocked by security guards.

Hospital equipment such as mattresses were left behind along with documents and other items.

A lobby is seen covered with dust, trash and sewage water.

Stairs are blocked to prevent strangers from gaining access.

Trash is piled as high as one meter on the street.

Weeds cover an empty space.

A broken fire hose, a result of the lack of maintenance.

It costs VND71 billion a year to manage and maintain the buildings, according to the HCMC Department of Construction. As there is no revenue, maintenance has been reduced over the years and this has led to a downgrading of the quality of the project.