A multimillion-dollar urban project in an outskirt district of Hanoi is now nothing but a grazing land, more than a decade after it was initiated.

The mega urban project is located in Me Linh District, about 20 kilometers northwest of downtown Hanoi.

Me Linh was previously a district of neighboring Vinh Phuc Province. After the locality was merged into Hanoi in 2008, many real estate investors were attracted to the place.

A road leading to the urban area

Multiple land plots of local farmers were retrieved to make space for a project on turning Me Linh into a modern urban area, which was estimated to cost trillions of dong. (VND1 trillion = $43 million)

According to the observation of Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper reporters, the urban area has already had its roads built, while many under-construction houses and villas could also be spotted.

The entire infrastructure here is nearly abandoned.

An entrance to a park is built, but the park itself has yet to be constructed.

Grass has filled many land plots, becoming feeding zones for cattle.

“Our family used to grow vegetables for a living,” said Chung, a local resident.

“We agreed to give up our land for the project, hoping it could improve people’s lives.”

The model of a building complex

Le Dinh Phuong, another resident, said that locals had handed our land plots to project developers, but they just ended up abandoning them.

“It is such a waste as farmers like me are in dire need of farming land,” he said.

An under-construction infrastructure

Cows eat grass within an abandoned mega-urban project

Empty land plots within the site of the project

Houses are left unfinished.

An abandoned security guard booth

Rusted street signs along an abandoned road

An under-construction villa

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