Construction of long-stalled high-rise project resumes in downtown Ho Chi Minh City
Sunday, August 21, 2022, 11:26 GMT+7
Work on the IFC One Saigon project, having been put on hold for over 10 years, in a prime site in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City has resumed after it was transferred to Viva Land Management and Development JSC.
The project had been renamed from Saigon One Tower.
According to Viva Land, the 45-story tower is a complex of offices, apartments, and a trade center with a total floor area of 123,000 square meters.
BM Windows JSC, which constructs the façade of the project, said that the skyscraper is 185 meters tall.
It is inspired by legendary dragons so its façade is formed from large triangle glass sheets with different colors, which look like dragons’ scales.
Leaders of the city once said that the long-delayed project, located at 34 Ton Duc Thang Street, was an eyesore.
They felt sad when many images and movies introducing the city showed the abandoned development, which is a stone’s throw from the Bitexco Financial Tower.
Located at the intersection of Ton Duc Thang and Ham Nghi Streets and not far from the Saigon River, the Saigon One Tower high-rise was expected to be the third-tallest building in Ho Chi Minh City at the construction time.
The skyscraper was initially developed by Saigon M&C Real Estate JSC and required an investment of US$256 million. Work on the project started in 2007.
The project was expected to be completed in 2009 but was halted in 2011, when it was 80 percent complete.
Vice-chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee Vo Van Hoan said the project was suspended due to the investor’s internal conflicts, including those regarding the property partition and external affairs.
After a hibernation period, the project was used as collateral for a VND7 trillion ($299 million) loan, which later became a bad debt implicated in a criminal case.
Seven months after seizing the high-rise, the Vietnam Asset Management Company, which takes charge of purchasing non-performing loans from local banks and handling them on the lenders’ behalf, on March 29, 2018 announced a Saigon One Tower auction to settle the bad debt.
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| The project was kicked off in 2007 on a 6,672-square-meter land lot at an estimated cost of US$256 million. Photo: Ngoc Hien / Tuoi Tre |
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| Workers construct the façade of the skyscraper. Photo: Ngoc Hien / Tuoi Tre |
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| At the groundbreaking time, the project was said to become the third-tallest building in Ho Chi Minh City, behind the 68-story Bitexco Financial Tower and The One with 55 floors, before Vingroup’s Landmark 81 was inaugurated in 2019. Photo: Ngoc Hien / Tuoi Tre |
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| Saigon One Tower, now known as IFC One Saigon, sits at the intersection of Ham Nghi and Ton Duc Thang Streets, Vo Van Kiet Avenue, and the Saigon River Tunnel in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Ngoc Hien / Tuoi Tre |
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| At twilight, workers still work at the site of the project. Photo: Ngoc Hien / Tuoi Tre |
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| Ho Chi Minh leaders once said that the project, developed at 34 Ton Duc Thang Street, damaged the city’s landscapes. Photo: Ngoc Hien / Tuoi Tre |
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