"Today, with the support of the Central Government, the efforts of relevant departments and units, and the determination of the investor, we are pleased to conduct the groundbreaking ceremony." - Mr. Phan Van Mai, Chairman of Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee - spoke at the groundbreaking ceremony of Lotte Eco Smart City taking place in Thu Thiem urban area in the afternoon of September 2.

According to Mr. Mai, the groundbreaking ceremony is even more meaningful when it takes place on the occasion of the 77th anniversary of Vietnam's National Day (September 2, 1945 - September 2, 2022) and the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomacy relations between Vietnam - Korea.

Mr. Mai added that this is one of the key projects of Thu Thiem New Urban Area. The project has a large scale, total investment capital is about 20,100 billion VND, total area is more than 74,500 m2 (project development area is about 50,000 m2).

The main function of the project is financial and commercial center, general services and multi-functional residential area. This project will contribute to the formation and development of a financial - banking, commercial and service center in Thu Thiem urban area.

The project is built on an area of 5 hectares, includes 5 basements, the highest building is a 60-storey tower.

With a total investment of nearly 1 billion USD, the project will include:

• 1200 luxury apartments

• Commercial center, 700-seat cinema

• 5* Hotel

• 4 office towers

In addition to bringing utilities to Thu Thiem such as a shopping mall, 5* hotel, the construction of 4 office towers is also very important, contributing to the ecosystem of Thu Thiem, turning it into a commercial area with busy working environment, not just a residential area as it is today.

Everyone knows that the office rental business has a much lower profit margin than selling a house. Many apartment projects investors earn up to 50% profit, but the office rental business has a low profit margin, so very few investors are interested in building offices.

Metropole office tower in Thu Thiem is the first project to have a different way to overcome the situation of low profit margins: Developer sold the whole building at a rumored price of about US$ 7000/m2 so as not to focus on the profit of office rental anymore.

The construction of office towers is very important for the complete ecology of an urban area:

• Attracting people to work, leading to an increase in demand for housing

• Crowded working area will promote business, especially F&B, create more conveniences for the surrounding residents.

Eco Smart City project will be completed in 2028, by then the face of Thu Thiem will change a lot.

Nguyen Thi Thu Ha (thitruongdiaoc.vn)