Hanoi(VNA) - When it comes to social housing or affordable housing for low-incomeearners, funding is usually a key factor in such projects. However, once theprojects are completed, problems in planning, investment management andefficiency tend to crop up.

In Hanoi,poor planning has been blamed for the high demand for low-cost housing anddisused housing projects.

Latelast month, the Ministry of Construction agreed to re-designate three apartmentbuildings meant for students in Phap Van - Tu Hiep New Urban Area to socialhousing for other low-income earners.

TheState-funded dorm project consists of six apartment buildings in Phap Van - TuHiep New Urban Area in Hoang Mai district. The project began construction inSeptember 2009 and was expected to provide accommodation for 22,000 students.

SinceJanuary 2015, three apartment buildings have been completed with more than1,200 furnished apartments, each apartment nearly 57 sq.m for eight studentspriced at 205,000 VND per person per month.

Therental price is a third or a quarter of prices offered by private landlords.

When the project was announced, as many as 15,000 students ofuniversities and colleges in the project’s neighbourhood applied foraccommodation. However, so far, just 30 percent of completed apartments are inuse.

The low uptake of the apartments has been blamed on a lack of publicinfrastructure around the buildings putting off students.

As soon as the Construction Ministry decided to change the dorms’ use,it called on Hanoi to speed up developing social and technical infrastructureto meet demand.

A shortage of public infrastructure has also caused other socialhousing in the heart of industrial zones to be unused, despite the workersbeing in dire need of lodgings.

For example, twenty four apartment blocks with 1,084 rooms have been completedin Kim Chung commune, Dong Anh district, to serve about 10,000 workers who workin Bac Thang Long Industrial Zone. However, just 7,000 workers have decided tolive there.

Other low-cost housing projects including Hoang Cau ResettlementProject in Dong Da district, a 20-story apartment building on Ta Quang Buustreet in Hai Ba Trung district and a resettlement area in Bac Tu Liem districtalso failed to attract home seekers.

Poor quality and lack of public infrastructure like road, water supplyor schools are said to be too great inconveniences, despite the low rentalprices.

Experts said the problem was a result of policymakers caring more aboutthe number of home seekers when developing social housing projects rather thanconsidering their needs.

Vice President of the Vietnam General Federation of Labour Mai Duc Chinhsaid that in many industrial zones in Vietnam, just five to ten percent ofworkers had housing arranged by an IZ.

However, housing for workers seemed merely a means to provide them aplace to sleep after work, he said, adding that schools or entertainment areaswere needed for workers’ social and spiritual lives.

Former head of the Housing andReal Estate Market Management Department Nguyen Manh Ha saidthat in some cases, people did not want to move to resettlement areas as thequality of houses and public infrastructure was lower than near their formerhomes.

Modest compensation fund was part of the reason for the low-qualityresettlement works, Ha said.

“Hanoi will have to arrange to resettle thousands of families to makeroom for about 2,700 upcoming projects, meaning there is a high demand forresettlement housing projects,” he said.

To attract people to such projects to avoid completed housing projectsbeing disused, the benefits of all involved parties must be ensured, he said.

Ha said that instead of poor quality resettlement houses, people inproject areas should be given compensation in cash so they can select suitablehouses depending on their needs and budget.-VNA