Most of the 793 hectares of highly valuable land, commonly known as “golden land” in HCM City , remains un built due to a shortage of investors with sufficient financial capacity.

Interest in the land, located in districts 1, 9 and Binh Thanh, continues to be intense, city officials have said.

District 1, which includes the prime downtown area, contains 4.9ha of the total golden land area, as well as some of the city’s most expensive sites.

Of the eight projects to be located on the prized land, only two are in the pipeline.

A hotel-exhibition centre project near the main Post Office on Dong Khoi Street in district 1 has attracted 60 investors, officials have said.

The city is considering applications for the project and will open a bidding competition in the near future.

In another project in district 1, a bid from an investor has been received to build a trade centre, 55-storey office tower and luxury hotel bordered by Tran Hung Dao, Nguyen Thai Hoc and Pham Ngu Lao streets.

In May, however, the investor, Thai Son Associates asked to withdraw from the project. The city has yet to make a final decision on the matter.

Another project, a trade centre and office tower to be located on the former Van Thanh Market area in Binh Thanh district, was scheduled to begin in April.

But the investor Nguyen Minh Tuan of SSG Van Thanh Joint-Stock Company, said the company was still negotiating a compensation rate to be paid for the removal of a telecommunications station at the site.

“The site clearance and conpensation board of Binh Thanh district is helping us with negotiations,” he added.

Last year, the city chose SSG Van Thanh’s bid of 1.1 trillion VND (63 million USD) to build the project.

Another project, an eco-tourism area and entertainment centre, to be located on Binh Quoi-Thanh Da peninsula in Binh Thanh district’s Ward 28, has received bids from 17 investors.

However, residents on the peninsula said the delays has disturbed their lives. Tong Van Do of Ward 28 said neighbours had asked the city to stop the project if it was not urgent.

Deplay have occurred because of a shortage of qualified investors and constant adjustments to the size and land area of the project.

In district 1, the city has not received qualified investors for a project to be located on the site of the Dan Sinh Market bordered by Le Loi , Nam Ky Khoi Nghia and Huynh Thuc Khang streets.

Goldlen land bordering Nguyen Hue, Ngo Duc Ke, Ho Tung Mau and Huynh Thuc Khang streets in district 1 is also slated for future use./.