The programme to build houses for low-income workers at Industrial Parks (IPs) in HCM City needs more commitment from developers and incentives from the government.

Worker housing at Tan Binh Industrial Park in HCM City. The city has asked companies in its industrial parks to contribute towards public housing for workers.

However, a local official conceded that many enterprises were hesitant about joining the programme because of unclear structure and policies that prevented other sectors like finance and banking from participating.

The fear of incurring huge losses was also a major deterrent, said the official, who wished to remain unnamed.

The South Sai Gon Development Corporation, investor in the Tan Thuan Export and Processing Zone, is having to compensate VND100 million per month for the losses of the housing project, said deputy director Hoang Ngoc Anh.

Several businesses and companies at IPs have said they are looking for incentives to involve themselves in low-income housing projects.

Real estate developers joining the programme should benefit from lower corporate income tax and value added tax, as well as gain easier access to bank loans, said Le Hoang Chau, chairman of the HCM City’s Real Estate Association.

The city needs to consider extending the preferential interest rate period on loans from seven to 20 years, Anh added.

The city’s Department of Construction has asked the government to reduce taxes for importing hi-tech equipment and to abolish land-use taxes for businesses in order to encourage investment in housing for IP workers.

The government will also be asked for simplified procedures and other incentives, said the city official.

There are six housing projects for workers in IPs and export processing zones being implemented in HCM City. The Tan Binh and Tan Tao IPs have built 30 and 40 dormitories to house 300 and 440 workers respectively. The Linh Trung IP, meanwhile, has three projects to build 530 rooms for 3,700 workers.

There are more than 190 IPs nationwide employing over 1 million workers and providing 1.2-1.5 million indirect jobs. Only 20 per cent of these workers have stable accommodation and the other 80 per cent rent rooms in private houses, according to the Ministry of Construction.

HCM City has 220,000 IP workers, 70 percent of them immigrants. Four of the city’s 14 export processing zones and IPs have so far built dormitories for 6,400 workers.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News