The Ho Chi Minh City administration has slapped a fine worth VND1.64 billion (US$70,644) on the developer of an apartment complex project in Tan Binh District for a total of 19 violations, which have persisted over the past years.

Tran Vinh Tuyen, the city’s deputy chairman, has signed a decision to impose the hefty penalty upon the Tan Binh Real Estate Investment Company, developer of the Tan Binh Apartment project at 32 Hoang Bat Dat Street.

The firm was also suspended from real estate business operations for12 months and from construction activities for six months.

As many wrongdoings at the project have been repeated over the past years, stirring concern among the community, a stern punishment for the developer is needed to deter similar violations in the future, according to the municipal administration.

Tan Binh Company was found selling the unfinished apartment units in the scandalous project without permission from the city’s Department of Construction.

The developer also failed to declare the correct area of the apartments when signing contracts with 67 clients.

The firm did not have a bank guarantee to ensure its financial liability for the buyers.

The company was also considered an incompetent project developer, while Do Viet Tan, director of the project management board, was forced to be replaced.

According to reports, the Tan Binh Apartment project covers an area of 4,400 square meters and consists of two blocks with a total of 168 units.

The developer promised its buyers that the apartments would be complete in March 2016.

However, more than two years after the schedule, the construction is nowhere near completion, forcing clients to send countless complaints to competent authorities.

In 2017, the municipal Department of Construction discovered that the developer had illegally built two extra floors on each block, raising the number of apartments from 168 to 196.

Tan Binh Company was required to pull down the illegal parts of the construction but eventually refused to cooperate, prompting the construction department to carry out the process by force.

Construction for the project is being suspended as the coercive measure remains underway.

In September 2017, the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee tasked the municipal inspectorate with conducting a comprehensive examination of the project to determine whether or not the violations had been abetted by local authorities.

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