At 92.2 hectares, Gem Sky World is one of the biggest residential projects near the under-construction Long Thanh International Airport in the southern province of Dong Nai.
The developer, Ha An, won an auction for the land at VND3 trillion ($123.84 million) in 2019, The first has since spent over VND5.7 trillion building the complex of 4,000 property units, including land lots, houses and villas.
But now most of the units are empty.
“When the airport construction began many people came and some coffee shops were opened, but now none remain,” a local resident said.
A cash crunch at the developer has stalled the completion of the remainder of the project.
Ha An has reported that all buildings will be completed by 2024-end.
Around 10 kilometers away, land for the 50-hectare Century City by property developer Thuan Loi was bought for VND1.27 trillion.
The firm wants to build 2,128 property units there.
A large park was completed in June last year, but few use it now as most of the houses are not occupied.
Another urban complex, the 23-hectare STC Long Thanh, has few tenants even though the developer paid VND1.63 trillion to win the land auction.
The complex lacks infrastructure such as schools, hospitals and administrative buildings.
A nearby complex, the 41-hectare Loc An residential area, has been mostly deserted over the last four years even though houses have been built.
Dong Nai authorities expect all residential complexes around Long Thanh International Airport to have up to 380,000 people by 2030, and 500,000 by 2045.
