Hochiminh City Slideshow

Vietnam Real Estate

Hanoi heritage too precious to lose, warn photographers

Change may be inevitable but it should not be allowed to overwhelm a city’s cultural legacy, images of old Hanoi remind us.

An American photographer and his Vietnamese counterpart have raised the bogey of modernization and its effect on Hanoi’s heritage by juxtaposing old and new images of the city at a recent exhibition.

Lawrence D’Attilio displayed more than 30 color photos and Tran Quoc Khanh a similar number of black and white photos in the “Hanoi Tuesday and Today” exhibition held at the capital’s Vietnam Fine Arts Museum last month.

The artists explain, “We should decide what to retain and what to change as the capital will become a modern city some day soon.”

The photos capture succinctly the heritage of the 1,000-year-old city and the duo’s affection for it.
D’Attilio says Hanoi will become an important city and a tourist attraction, changing every day for the better.

But some things will be irretrievably lost in the process, he warns.

The American seeks to create a photo journal of all that is good and bad in the city and leave it to the locals to decide what to preserve and what to develop.

a high-rise proposal by Vincom within Hanoi’s downtown area

One of his photos evokes the future of Hanoi with lots of modern high-rise buildings.

The image is one of sameness and boredom.

He believes beauty can only be created by a diversity of components and colors that make up the whole.

“I come to this city and find lots of interesting things that I can’t in the US,” he says.

“Hanoi is different in many ways from where I live in America. That’s why I want to share my interest with others.”

His favorite photo is that of a gentle old woman who looks very happy, apparently without a care in the world.

Interestingly, Khanh too has a photo of the old woman but in a family setting.

The picture shows several generations of her family living together.

Life may have been hard for them, but the older generations are extremely happy just to see their descendants grow up well-educated.

What will happen will happen

Khanh shows the city’s concern for the traffic problem in a photo titled “An Ancient City with Tall Buildings.”

Then there is a photo of a house standing right in the middle of a street in “The Knot.”

“A Time to Wash the Hands” shows a house beside a railway line, an image that may be increasingly harder to find.

The image of tangled electrical wires in his “Hair of the Street” photo too may disappear once the city has more tall buildings and the wires are buried underground.

The “Inherited House” raises the issue of preserving the ancient city.

No one knows what the owners of the house in the photo think but one wonders, all the same, if they will be tempted by money and sell it or replace it with a modern house – after all, to preserve an ancient house in a large city, one has to swim against the tide of development.

Khanh is very concerned about the pollution caused by northerners’ habit of using coal and “A Substance that Burns Away our Health” warns about its harmful effects on people’s health.

People have a shared interest in the “the gap of words” photo.

It shows the image of a white-haired old man teaching his grandson tirelessly.

The image of a family tutor like that is quite common in Hanoi, especially in families with a medium or high income.

The photographer wants to say that teaching children all the time like that would mean they don’t have time to play and learn about other things which are also very useful for them.

Helping women fight poverty

Not many know how much D’Attilio loves Vietnam.

He works for a community development center and takes photos of poor women to send to international agencies to raise microcredit for small-time entrepreneurs.

Some of the women grow corn, others do retail trade or grow ornamental plants.

So far, 1,000 people have been assisted.

Vietnam Real Estate

Phu My Hung @ Night

Vietnam Real Estate

This is how Phu My Hung in Saigon looks like at night.

International seminar and exhibition called Vietnam Tourism Property Opportunities (VnTPO-2008)

Real Estate Vietnam
This event is open to the public

Event Date:	2008-04-17
Start Time:	17/04/2008
End Time:	18/04/2008
Location:	Ho Chi Minh City
Contact Phone:	(84-8) 5262 073/ 2905 520

DiaOcOnline

Door to be opened wider to Viet Kieu house buyers

The Ministry of Construction is hoping a proposed regulation will spur property purchases by members of the overseas Vietnamese community.

Minister of Construction, Nguyen Hong Quan, recently submitted a proposal to the Prime Minister to amend existing regulations governing Viet Kieu land purchases.

According to the proposal, Viet Kieu who will be eligible to buy property include Viet Kieu who have invested under the Law on Investment, are married to Vietnamese, have made contributions to the country and those that have university certificates and are working in Vietnam. Viet Kieu who have visas of six months or have visa exemptions will be permitted to buy one house or apartment under the proposal.

The proposal was sent to the government in order to be considered for next section in the National Assembly in November this year. According to Deputy Minister of Construction, Nguyen Tran Nam, the proposal contains the biggest ever amendments to the regulations and would allow all of the Viet Kieu community to own land in Vietnam.

According the Committee for Overseas Vietnamese Affairs, there are around three million Vietnamese living abroad, of these more than 100,000 want to buy property in Vietnam.

According to figures from Ministry of Construction, more than five years after Decree 81/CP first allowed Viet Kieu to buy property here, only 130 Viet Kieu have gone on to become homeowners.

Source: VIR

Construction update – March 2008

Plans laid to triple Hanoi’s size

The Hanoi People’s Council has approved a plan to expand the capital city’s total area to over thrice its current size by absorbing neighboring districts.

If the central government approves the plan, Hanoi’s population would nearly double.

Under the plan, the capitol city – currently 920 square kilometers in size – would merge with the entire Ha Tay Province, Vinh Phuc.

Province’s Me Linh District and four communes in Hoa Binh Province’s Luong Son District to encompass over 3,300 square kilometers.

The Hanoi People’s Committee will deliver the resolution to the central government and the National Assembly for a final decision.

Committee Chairman Nguyen The Thao said that Hanoi was not only a political, administrative and cultural hub, but also an important economic center.

The city therefore needed more room to build new urban areas, he said.

Thao also said that according the plan, the 526-hectare West Lake area would replace the 63-hectare Hoan Kiem Lake neighborhood the city’s downtown.

People’s Council representative Thich Bao Nghiem suggested that measures to preserve handicraft villages and cultural values be adhered to amid urbanization and expansion.

Under the plan, Hanoi’s population would jump from 3.4 million to an estimated six million people.

Vietnam’s first “green” urban area to break ground

A 157-hectare solar-powered urban area will break ground next month in the southern province of Dong Nai.

The Allen Jack Cottier company – an Australian-owned architectural firm – will act as a design consultant on the environmentally sustainable Tam Phuoc Urban Area project.

Company director Michael Heenan says electricity in the urban area will be generated by large solar rooftop panels and processed rainwater will serve as the community’s water supply.

Waste-water, meanwhile, will be treated for use on plants in the area.
Modern construction materials will be employed which are fire-resistant and earthquake-ready.

“We will use environment-friendly construction materials like ‘green’ cement and carbon fiber so they will not affect our earth later,” said Heenan.

Residences will be designed with Vietnam’s tropical climate in mind and will accommodate up to 16,000 people.

Construction will be divided into four stages.

In the first phase, expected to take around 30 months, the Australian-owned E.VO Global Group and Ho Chi Minh City-based Saigon Flowers and Ornamental Plants Company will invest US$60 million in developing the area’s infrastructure and homes.

The following stages will focus on building trade centers, schools, hospitals, theaters, cinemas, sport centers, apartments and villas.

The investors have yet to announce the cost for each type of housing.

The Tam Phuoc Urban Area will be located in Long Thanh District, 12 kilometers from Long Thanh international airport and 20 kilometers outside of HCMC.

Vietnam also recently began construction of its first solar panel and cell manufacturing plant in the southern province of Long An.

Indochina Riverside Towers

The Indochina Riverside Towers, located right in the city heart of Danang offers panoramic views of the Han River, China Beach and Cham Islands. The 24-storey residential tower comprising of 95 condominiums for sale is the first high-quality international standard residential property development in Danang.

INDOCHINA RIVERSIDE TOWERS

Luxury condominiums in the City Center and by the Han River
Location: downtown of Danang City
Scale: 95 luxury condominiums for sale
Project value: US$ 27 million

Condo no.	Floor	Size (sqm)	No. of bedroom	Specification	Price (USD)	Facilities	Ownership remarks
4C	4	110	2	Luxury Han riverside condominium in the City heart, suitable to executive residence or income-generating property or investment.	208,114	out-door swimming pool gym children playground bar Luxury retail center	Free-hold to Vietnamese citizens and 50-year lease to foreign passport holders
10A	10	100	2		197,376
10B		108	2		212,672
10C		110	2		218,703
10D		118	2		231,646
10E		65	1		130,530
11A	11	100	2		199,141
11B		108	2		214,437
11C		110	2		220,468
11D		118	2		233,705
11E		65	1		132,001

* Prices exclusive of VAT 10%

Viet Kieu now close to home ownership parity

Real Estate Vietnam – Viet Kieu are one step closer to unlocking the door to enjoying similar home ownership rights as their homeland-based compatriots. The Ministry of Construction has submitted a proposal to adjust Decree 90/2006/ND-CP, paving the wave for Viet Kieu to purchase homes in Vietnam.

According to the proposal, Viet Kieu holding Vietnamese nationality who return for long-term investment under the Investment Law and make contributions to the country, scientists with regular activities in the homeland or who are allowed to return and settle in the country, would have the same rights as Vietnamese buying, exchanging and inheriting homes without limits on quantity.

Ta Nguyen Ngoc, director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Committee for Overseas Vietnamese’s Department of Relations on Economics, Science and Technology, said: “This is a big step to put the decree into effect. If it is approved, all obstacles would be removed. Viet Kieu would feel encouraged when they return and do business in the country.”

Decree 90/2006/ND-CP came out in 2006 and allowed for Viet Kieu to own homes in Vietnam. Under the decree, Viet Kieu who reside in Vietnam for at least six months or have a visa exemption certificate would be permitted to buy one apartment or a house.

However, many have been not able to do so as a lack of guidance from the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on how the residing time is specified. Nguyen Hoai Bac, general director of QILink Joint Venture Company – who is also a Viet Kieu from Canada, said the regulations would now be much clearer. “If the proposal is approved, it would be a significant milestone for Viet Kieu who want to return and settle in their native country,” said Bac.

The proposal also specifies necessary administrative documents, which include passport, nationality certificates or certificates proving the Vietnamese origin of Viet Kieu. Amended regulations on buying, exchanging, giving and inheriting homes of Viet Kieu were also submitted to the government for adjustment. – DiaOcOnline.vn