KEPPEL Land is taking a 42 per cent stake in a waterfront township project in Ho Chi Minh City that will include about 4,700 homes with a potential gross floor area of about 10.76 million square feet and which will take about eight to 10 years to develop.
The project’s first phase, which is expected to be launched in 2011, has an estimated on-completion value of US$80-120 million. This will be KepLand’s third township development in the Vietnamese city.
KepLand said yesterday that it had formed a joint venture with Tien Phuoc Co Ltd and Tran Thai Co Ltd to develop the waterfront residential township on a prime 30 hectare site at South Rach Chiec in the city’s popular District 2. The plot boasts over 2km of river frontage.
‘This is a pilot programme which will be developed in phases,’ KepLand said.
The joint venture will build and transfer to the city, a social housing project of about 1,800 apartments on another site in District 2, about 10 minutes’ drive from the waterfront site. In return, the city will assign to the joint venture the 30 hectare cleared site, which is zoned for waterfront development, KepLand said in a regulatory filing with the Singapore Exchange yesterday.
In addition to the 4,700 homes (which will be high-rise condos targeting the upper-middle income market), the township will also include complementary commercial components such as retail outlets and shophouses.
The site is 8km from the central business district. ‘Travelling time to the CBD will be cut to less than 15 minutes upon completion of the Thu Thiem Tunnel, East-West Highway and Ho Chi Minh City-Long Thanh Expressway, all currently under construction, over the next two years,’ KepLand said.
KepLand’s 42 per cent stake in the project amounts to US$16 million (about S$22.3 million) of the joint venture’s total registered capital of US$38 million. Tien Phuoc and Tran Thai will hold 38 and 20 per cent respectively.
Keppel Land International executive director and CEO Ang Wee Gee said: ‘Keppel Land was able to leverage its reputation in Vietnam and its strong relationships with local authorities and strategic partners to secure another large site to meet demand for its homes and build up its quality portfolio.
‘Our new township will allow us to tap our experience to masterplan and develop a desirable live-work-play environment and lifestyle for our residents.’
KepLand also gave an update of its waterfront villa development Riviera Cove in Ho Chi Minh City, saying that about 80 per cent of 60 launched villas were taken up within a month of their release in mid-November 2009, at an average selling price of about US$680,000 per unit. The remaining units in the 96-unit project will be progressively launched this quarter.
KepLand’s two earlier township projects in Ho Chi Minh City are still under construction – Saigon Sports City, an integrated residential, commercial and recreational sporting hub on a 64-ha site in District 2, and a 367-ha waterfront residential township in Dong Nai Province.
The latest waterfront township development marks KepLand’s second collaboration with Tien Phuoc, following the 1,393-unit The Estella condo, also in District 2.
Tien Phuoc’s other projects in the region include South Saigon Residential Complex, Le Meridien Saigon Tower (a hotel and office mixed-use development) and Cam Ranh Bay Resort.
Source: Business Times, 8 Jan 2010
No comments:
Post a Comment