HCM City (VNS/VNA) - The skewed concentration of property projects insome areas of Ho Chi Minh City has resulted in an imbalance in the developmentof satellite cities and causes a strain on the transport system, a workshopheard in the city on April 16.

In 2017 the Government approved a master plan for the period until 2030 for theHCM City region, which covers an area of more than 30,000 square metrescomprising HCM City and the seven surrounding provinces of Ba Ria – Vung Tau, BinhDuong, Binh Phuoc, Tay Ninh, Long An, Dong Nai, and Tien Giang.

It creates a legal framework to attract investment in satellite cities and realestate markets in outlying areas, Nguyen Tuan Anh, editor-in-chief of Nha dautu (Investor) magazine, told the workshop.

New regulations in the city to tighten the issue of licences to propertyprojects resulted in a drastic drop in supply, boosting the real estate marketsin neighbouring provinces, he said.

But there is an imbalance in the development of satellite cities, affecting theimplementation of the master plan, he said.

Le Do Muoi, head of the Transport Development and Strategy Institute, saidinvestment in traffic infrastructure is vital to ensure connectivity betweenHCM City and satellite cities and synchronised transportation.

Improving traffic infrastructure is now a priority, he said.

In recent years infrastructure for travel between the city and provinces in theHCM City region has improved, resulting in the mushrooming of new urban areas,he said.

This has enabled investments to flow easier into neighbouring provinces, hesaid.

But a high concentration of property and urban development projects to the eastof the city, including in Binh Duong and Dong Nai provinces, has resulted inskewed development and placed a strain on transport systems in itsgateways. 

Nguyen Hoang, R&D director at DKRA Vietnam, said the HCM City real estatemarket has for years spilt over into its neighbouring provinces, and theirmarkets thus have close links and affect each other.

Last year the market in neighbouring provinces saw positive growth, which madeup for the decline in all segments in HCM City, he added./.