Hanoi (VNA) – Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on March16 urged the plan on building at least 1 million social housing units for low-incomeearners and industrial workers in the 2021 - 2030 period to be implementedquickly and effectively.

Chairing a national hybrid conference on the issue, he emphasisedthat housing is one of the three pillars of social security, and that Vietnamdoes not pursue pure economic growth at the expense of social equality,security or the environment.

He said implementing the Party and State’s guidelines and policieson social security, the Government approved the plan on building at least 1million social housing units for low-income earners and workers of industrial parksin the 2021 - 2030 period. It also ordered a credit package worth 120 trillionVND (over 5 billion USD) for social housing development to be carried out.

PM Chinh cited statistics as showing that thereare 1,316 land plots with a total area of 8,611 hectares having been plannedfor social housing, more than double the 2020 figure of 3,359 hectares. From2021 to 2023, 499 projects with over 411,000 social housing units wereimplemented.

Under the credit package of 120 trillion VND, banks have pledgedto provide about 7 trillion VND in loans for 15 projects. About 640 billion VNDhas been disbursed for eight projects in seven localities.

Buildingsocial housing for low-income earners and housing for workers forms an importantpart of socio-economic development policies. Developing housing, includingsocial housing, is a responsibility of the State, society, and people, he noted.

The Government leader affirmed that alleconomic sectors are encouraged to engage in the development of social housing and housing forworkers under the market mechanism. The State has issued housing support policiesfor low-income earners in urban areas and workers of industrial parks to helpensure political stability and social security.

Headded that social housing development must be connected with the real estatemarket development, match the housing development plan for each period, complywith legal regulations and approved master plans, and ensure comprehensivetechnical and social infrastructure.

To quickly and effectively carry out the plan on building atleast 1 million social housing units for 2021 - 2030, all stakeholders, basingon their functions, tasks and power, must exert all-out efforts, show the highestsense of responsibility, take creative and timely action, and uphold socialethics to fulfill their duties to develop true social housing, he demanded.

PMChinh asked the Ministry of Construction, the Ministry of Natural Resources andEnvironment, and the State Bank of Vietnam to soon devise and release thedocuments guiding the enforcement of related laws, including the revised Law onHousing, the revised Law on Real Estate Business, the revised Land Law, and therevised Law on Credit Institutions.

In particular, they need to tackle obstacles by streamlining administrativeprocedures and enhancing decentralisation to minimise the time and cost neededfor social housing development, he went on.

Atthe conference, the PM also assigned concrete tasks to other ministries,sectors, localities, and businesses./.