French heavy-weight steps in to save notorious $930m financial centre

October 06, 2016 | 13:34
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France-based Vinci Construction has expressed interest in co-operating with Berjaya Land Berhad (Berjaya), a subsidiary of Malaysian Berjaya Corporation, to develop the long-delayed $930 million Vietnam Financial Centre in District 10, Ho Chi Minh City.

According to Thesaigontimes, at a meeting with Nguyen Thanh Phong, Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh People’s Committee on October 5, Vinci Group chairman Jerome Stubler noted that the group will be in charge of the design and construction stages and will help Berjaya call for investment capital.

In addition, the group expressed interest in developing projects of public traffic infrastructure, environment, and drainage, according to the city’s proposal.

According to the plan, the investors will develop a complex featuring a mega mall, an office building, and a five-star hotel with 488 rooms and 289 serviced apartments.

Licensed in February 2008, the project’s plans have been altered and adjusted 14 times, leading to heavy delay in construction, which was expected to kick off in the first quarter of 2010. The construction was reset to kick off in July 2011 and be completed in 2016. However, as of now, the grounds are currently occupied by a flock of businesses from car parking to tennis courts and motels, rather than the monolithic skyscraper and surrounding facilities the company proposed.

Vinci Construction is a leading French construction company with nearly 1,000 subsidiaries employing nearly 69,000 people in some 100 countries. The group has previously co-operated with Berjaya to develop numerous projects in Malaysia.

Present in Vietnam for over 20 years, Vinci Construction established numerous subsidiaries, including Structure Vietnam, Bachy Soletanche Vietnam, Freyssinet Vietnam, Vinci Construction Grands Projets, and Campenon.

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By By Ha Vy

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