Central city restarts $17m apartment project

ĐÀ NẴNG — The Summit Sơn Trà Apartment project has restarted after a five-year delay due to shortage of funds, the city’s construction department said in a statement yesterday.

The department said the 21-storey apartment started construction with total investment of US$17 million in 2010 and had completed major structural work. However, building stopped in 2012 when the owner, the Meridian Land company, could not find funds to complete the project.

The apartment owner was indebted to contractors, buyers and banks for a total ofl VNĐ100 billion ($4.4 million).

The city’s construction department said a new group of  investors had agreed to pay debt and cover the project as a new owner.

The 365-apartment project is now expected to be completed next year.

According to the city’s investment promotion agency, tourist real estate remains a favourite investment magnet in the central city, attracting 25 foreign direct investment (FDI) projects worth US$1.8 billion – 54 per cent of total FDI capital Đà Nẵng.

The city has so far developed 16 tourist property projects consisting of 749 villas, of which 609 are for sale and 140 for lease.

According to a report from Savilles Việt Nam, a property consultancy firm, Đà Nẵng property developers intend to focus on coastal resorts. It said the central city had experienced rapid urbanisation, attracting a large labour force from neighbouring provinces and overseas.

Despite the stagnant market in 2008-14, the central city has lured a huge labour force from neighbouring provinces as well as overseas.

In the future, coastal property projects in Sơn Trà and Ngũ Hành Sơn districts will be given priority. — VNS