Ho Chi Minh City desires social housing, especially for the young who have yet to accumulate many assets but who have knowledge, health, and aspiration and form the driving force of the city.

In parallel with the speed of development of young people

At the recent international seminar ‘Social Housing Development in Vietnam – International Solutions and Experience,’Nguyen Quang, director of the United Nations Un-Habitat member organization in Vietnam, said: "Social housing development plays an important role in economic development, creating jobs and changing the living environment.”

This means that a social housing project must be associated with amenities and provide enough living space for people – especially the young people – to live, study, and work.

But the prejudice against ‘social housing’ drives many to think of it as ‘low-income housing,’ thus low quality. This thinking needs to be changed. A representative of C.T Group, which is implementing an international standard social housing project for young people in Binh Chanh District, Ho Chi Minh City, said: “With Saigon Venice, we target young people who have not accumulated many assets but they will shape a residential community that can develop rapidly. So the city is predetermined for the possibility of prosperity. Therefore, the project's selling price will surely be very suitable for customers in this segment, with flexible payment methods and optimal financial support policies for everyone. This will be a comfortable place to live and it will ensure good quality of life and easy connectivity.”

Nguyen Quang added: “In 17 Sustainable Development Goals to 2030, the 11th is the promotion of sustainable development, tolerance, adaptation, and safety of cities and communities. Criterion 11.1 is to access safe and affordable housing (suitable in terms of affordability, being properly used, and cultural conditions). Over 20 years ago, the Vietnamese government had many policies and programs to promote social housing development, and has gained remarkable achievements since. The field of social housing development has played an important role in economic development, job creation, and improvement of the living environment. However, Vietnam is facing challenges in accessing appropriate housing (housing prices are too high).”

Therefore, the challenge of Vietnamese real estate developers, including international groups, is how to change the definition of ‘social housing’ and apply technology to quench the thirst for affordable housing in new industrial urban areas, such as Binh Chanh in the South of Saigon, which is emerging along the planning of the 3A metro line and the development of the southern industrial belt.

Green living environment, technology

There are two highlights that housing policymakers in Vietnam have agreed upon in recent conferences: the participation of private infrastructure developers and the possibility of technology application in construction. The two factors plus the support of an effective credit system will be the solution to this social housing problem.

And never before in Vietnam have the participation of technology in the process of building, trading, and operating real estate become as bustling and diverse as they are now. New technologies in construction, material usage, and green design are suitable for the environment and saving energy, while also bringing other very obvious benefits for social housing projects for the young. Some of the benefits include artificial intelligence with the ability to compute and connect resources to understand the needs and best response of homebuyers while digital finance applications make a loan, payment, and financial leverage more convenient for everyone. Most importantly, the employment of IoT – Internet of Things – makes the administration, operation, and use of the living space highly automated and much safer than traditional models.

That is also the reason that C.T Group, which has owned a huge land bank in Binh Chanh District for many years, is presenting itself as a leader in the race of ‘international standard housing for young people’ by announcing the Saigon Venice project with five criteria: ‘business - economy, environment, community, technology, and culture.’ C.T Group hopes to incorporate many technological elements into this new urban area through taking advantage of the supporting resources of international organizations, which will help create a new face for the city of the young who are building a satellite town for the sustainable development of Ho Chi Minh City.