Mekong Delta speeds up social housing development for low-income, industrial park workers

A social housing block in Long An Province. — VNA/VNS Photo Đức Hạnh

HÀ NỘI — Provinces of the Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta are taking multiple measures to facilitate rental social housing projects and ensure accommodation for workers.

The region is speeding up the progress to approve investment plans for multiple projects as part of a nationwide programme aiming to develop at least one million social housing apartments for low-income and industrial park workers between 2021 and 2030.

In the city of Cần Thơ, six social housing projects with 3,531 apartments are under construction, accounting for 86 per cent of the plan.

According to the city’s Department of Construction, there is a significant demand for social housing in Cần Thơ.

However, the number of applications remains low due to bottlenecks in the registration processes, particularly regarding income and existing residence verification.

In addition, the budget for social housing loans, per the government’s decree, has only been partially allocated for 2021-2023, while the allocation for 2024 remains in limbo.

Cần Thơ’s Department of Construction is expected to accelerate the paperwork to approve investments for social housing projects, prioritising those within industrial parks and export processing zones for worker accommodation.

A social housing programme in Cần Thơ to 2025 with a vision to 2030 is also taking shape.

Meanwhile, Bạc Liêu Province set the goal to finish 900 social housing apartments by 2025 and bring this number to 1,000 in the 2026-2030 period.

However, its progress fell short of expectations as no social housing project has been executed as of May 2024.

Huỳnh Hữu Trí, chairman of the provincial People’s Committee has ordered coordination from local authorities to address the bottlenecks and aim for 200 social housing apartments finished this year. This figure is expected to increase to 1,900 by 2030.

Bạc Liêu will also allocate its budget to support investors in land clearance and infrastructure connections.

Long An, another province in the region, has put into operation seven social housing projects of 1,884 apartments across 5.41 hectares, responding to the needs of about 8,000 people.

Long An’s construction department is perfecting its social housing development projects for industrial park workers to 2025, with a vision for 2030, which set the goal to build 71,250 social housing apartments in the locality.

The local branch of the Bank for Social Policies also offers loans for the social housing programme while also assisting in the renovation of 19 houses for low-income people.

The provincial construction department has urged the local People’s Committee to review all approved projects in alignment with regulations and the current demands.

Local authorities will also need to complete the administrative procedures to approve social housing projects according to plans to proceed to contractor selection. — VNS