Minister of Construction urges more low-income housing
Minister of Construction urges more low-income housing
Minister of Construction Trinh Dinh Dung has asked contractors to prioritise invests in low-income housing projects, as 90% of citizens can only afford the homes in this sector.
According to Dung, even though these domiciles are listed as homes for low-income people, they are the only residences within the reach of most Vietnamese citizens. He said that 90% of citizens have a need for apartments costing less than VND15 million (USD714) per square metre.
"We still can't meet the huge demand. There are still many poor families in the cities and in the industrial zones. I once saw a five-member family living in a 16-square-metre house," he added.
Dung proposed that local authorities in Hanoi create more favourable conditions for investors to convert commercial spaces into social housing. He said these homes would be prioritised to meet the real demands of disadvantaged families.
On September 9, the minister, along with the authorities of Hanoi People's Committee, conducted inspections of several social housing and dormitory projects. The minister showed his approval with the quality and suggested that contractors also provide furniture at low cost.
Nguyen Ngoc Tuan, vice chairman of Hanoi People's Committee, said Hanoi is one of the cities to most quickly implement low-income housing projects. As of now, the city has 44 projects.
However, Deputy Minister of Construction Nguyen Tran Nam said that according to the approved plan, Hanoi must have at least 20,000 low-income apartments by 2015. Even with 15,000 apartment projects, there is little in the works, making the aspirations for next year seem difficult to attain. Nam asked that Hanoi municipal authorities propose new plans to investors.
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