22 years in limbo: Singaporean firm’s $240 million project may come to life?

October 17, 2016 | 16:31

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The long-delayed Red River project invested by Singaporean City Development Corporation (CDC), with the total investment capital of $240 million, may be resumed after 22 years of lying on the backburner.

According to newswire Tienphong, the Hanoi Pepeople’s Committee has decided to reconsider the Red River project and directed the relevant departments as well as Tay Ho and Ba Dinh districts to implement their parts in the project.

Previously, the Hanoi Department of Planning and Investment requested the capital’s leaders to direct the Department of Planning and Architecture to notice the investor the capital’s planning criteria to resume the project. In case the project does not suit the general planning on the capital’s construction approved by the prime minister, the department should propose another site to the city’s leaders for appraisal.

In 1994, CDC expressed interest in developing a commercial project outside the dyke of An Duong area in Ba Dinh district. The investor established a joint venture company to develop the project. Accordingly, the investor planned to construct a commercial complex, including an office building, hotels, as well as a housing and an amusement area.

The Red River project was granted the investment certificate in 1994, however, the project remains in limbo because of its perilous location between the dyke and the Red River. Meanwhile, according to the current Law on Dykes, no high-rise constructions can be built in this area because it could badly damage the dyke system itself.

During the last 22 years, the investor has been pursuing the project to no avail. Recently, the investors usually required Hanoi authorities to give a final answer and decide the project’s fate once and for all. In case the project is not authorised to develop on the existing area, the investor requested for alternative locations.

A decade ago, a South Korean firm sought Hanoi authorities’ approval to construct high-rise buildings and parks in the area between the Red River and its dyke with the total investment capital of $7 billion. However, the project was not licensed.