Central Vietnam hub Danang sees real estate projects reborn

After a period of being in limbo, many urban area projects in the central city of Danang, such as the Thuan Phuoc New Urban Area, Marina Complex, and The Legend City Danang, are showing signs of life.

The Thuan Phuoc-Danang New Urban Area project, spanning over 976,000 sqm with a total investment of more than VND11.4 trillion ($445.74 million), has resumed construction after years of delays due to various reasons.

It features a mix of residential housing, villas, shophouses, luxury apartments, 5- to 6-star hotels, shopping areas, dining and entertainment areas, parks, schools, hospitals, and other high-end amenities.

In the same vein, the Marina Complex project, located in Nai Hien Dong ward, Son Tra district and invested by Danang Marina Co., Ltd., restarted construction in early March.

In a notice to the ward people’s committee, the company announced the start of townhouse and villa construction, outlining plans for 16 villas, each three to four stories high, with floor areas ranging from 369 to 813 sqm. Completion is expected in the second quarter of 2026.

Covering 11.7 hectares, the Marina Complex began its first phase in 2016, with over 100 shophouses built and distributed to the market. The second started in early 2019 but faced setbacks as embankment construction and land grading stirred public concerns over potential disruptions to the Han River’s flow, causing the project to be halted for further assessment.

Meanwhile, Vipico Co., Ltd. has begun construction on The Legend City Danang, a mixed-use complex featuring a 29-story twin-tower development with a trading center, hotels and apartments, along with three underground floors. Located in Son Tra district, the project has a total investment of more than VND3 trillion ($117.3 million).

The project site was at the center of a dispute between Vipico as the plaintiff and the municipal People’s Committee as the defendant, after the company’s winning bid for the land was revoked. Following both first-instance and appeals courts, Danang authorities lost the case, clearing the way for the project to move forward.

The municipal People’s Committee said the city will focus on removing obstacles for projects, enabling them to spring back to life this year and boosting overall development investment in the locality.

Notably, major projects are set to break ground in the first two quarters, with combined investments exceeding VND100 trillion ($3.91 billion), including the Lang Van (Van village) project (VND44 trillion), the Asia Park complex, the international fireworks complex (over $40 trillion), tech giant FPT’s projects (over $5 trillion), and telecom group Viettel’s IT Park (more than $2 trillion).

Boosting market supply

According to Vo Hong Thang, deputy CEO of DKRA Group, the resumption of multiple projects in Danang will help increase real estate supply given persistent shortages. He noted that the efforts to remove obstacles extend beyond the housing sector to other segments, providing more options for buyers.

He said as the real estate sector holds a significant chunk, over 20% of total national economic assets, the resumption is expected to drive growth across related industries, including construction, capital financing, and securities, while also creating jobs and spurring overall economic development.

For investors and developers, the revival of stalled projects will help mitigate financial losses, including interest expenses and opportunity costs. This, in turn, will allow businesses to better manage production costs, helping stabilize market prices that have remained high due to rising input costs, Thang said.

Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Le Trung Chinh pointed out roadblocks relating to inspection conclusions and court rulings faced by projects over the past years, adding between 2012 and 2020, Danang was subject to four Government Inspectorate conclusions and three criminal appeal rulings.

Since 2022, the city has actively taken steps to review the ongoing issues and proposed the government seek the Party Central Committee’s involvement in untangling lingering obstacles, he said.

The Politburo and the National Assembly - the country's legislature - have also acted to facilitate projects, with the Politburo issuing a conclusion in May 2024 and the parliament later adopting a resolution aimed at project and land management in Ho Chi Minh City, Danang, and Khanh Hoa province.

The government is set to issue a decree providing detailed guidelines for implementing the resolution.