New roads, bridges boost property sector in HCM City and southern provinces

Transport development has been one of the strong points of the property market this year, according to CBRE Vietnam. 
In the past few years, several road projects have opened, including the Pham Van Dong Highway linking Tan Son Nhat Airport with National Highway No 1A, running through Binh Duong Province’s Di An District to Bien Hoa City in Dong Nai Province.
From 2000 to 2010, when the eight-lane Pham Van Dong Highway had yet to open, no real estate projects existed along the route.
But after 2010, a number of big projects, such as Dat Xanh, Him Lam Land and Thu Duc House, were built along the new highway in HCM City and Binh Duong Province.
Previously, real estate projects were built before infrastructure development occurred, but now transport infrastructure is a pre-condition for property projects.
Before 2007, few property projects were seen along Nguyen Van Linh Highway, which connects districts 2, 7, 8 and Binh Chanh with Long An Province.
However, the new 10-kilometre highway has triggered a construction boom of apartment buildings along the road.
The 10-km Vo Van Kiet Avenue which links the city’s District 1 with National Highway No 1A to Long An Province and the Mekong Delta has paved the way for a number of property projects, including Novaland, 577, Nam Long and Vietcomreal.
The new Vo Van Kiet Avenue has also spurred development of apartment buildings near the road after a couple of years of stagnancy.
The newly upgraded and enlarged Mai Chi Tho Street and Hanoi Highway, which connect HCM City with Dong Nai Province, have also jump-started a construction boom of apartment building projects in the area.
Figures from the HCM City Department of Transport show that over 50 property projects, with more than a total of 30,000 apartments, have been built along these two roads.
In addition, construction of the Metro Line No 1 in HCM City has helped promote the property market, despite financial challenges faced by the metro project.
Since 2007, when construction of the Metro Line No 1 began, at least 20 real estate projects with a total of 20,000 apartments have been built along the route.
Bui Xuan Cuong, director of the transport department, said the city would develop more roads and bridges in suburban areas as more residents move from the inner city to suburbs.
“It’s easy to see the rapid growth of property in areas where transport infrastructure has developed. This is a sign of equal growth of the city’s main property areas,” Cuong said.
Nguyen Thanh Phong, chairman of the city People’s Committee, said the city had given priority to investment in transport projects, and had given red-carpet invitations to potential investors.
The city has called for investments in 100 projects under the PPP (public-private-partnership) form, mainly investment in transport infrastructure, which also benefits neighbouring southern provinces.
Su Ngoc Khuong from Savills Vietnam said HCM City’s policy on transport projects has been on the right track, with shifts from inner to suburban districts.
More property projects when the Cat Lai Bridge opened, linking the city with Dong Nai Province’s Nhon Trach District, and after the HCM City–Long Thanh–Dau Giay–Phan Thiet Expressway was built in 2009.
When the property market in Banh Duong Province faced stagnant growth, the property market in Di An, a district bordering HCM City, showed signs of revival, with apartments in 10 property projects on sale since 2013.
Similarly, with the extension of Le Trong Tan and Truong Chinh streets, and National Highway No 22 linking western areas of HCM City with Duc Hoa District in Long An Province, the property market of Duc Hoa District expanded, with nearly 20 apartment building projects on sale since 2010.
The developers of these property projects told customers that it would take only half an hour to travel by motorbike from HCM City’s inner district to the apartments in Duc Hoa District, according to Khuong.
“The region’s transport infrastructure development has paved the way for the sustainable development of the real estate market in HCM City and neighbouring provinces,” Khuong said.