HCM CITY — Industrial developer Becamex IDC on Friday broke ground on four social housing projects in HCM City, adding more than 6,200 apartments as Việt Nam's largest metropolis aims to tackle a shortage of affordable housing.

The four projects, comprising 6,229 apartments, will be developed in Chánh Hiệp and Thuận Giao wards and are intended for low-income residents, industrial workers and other beneficiaries of government housing support programmes.

The developments include the first phase of the Định Hòa Area 3 project with 1,178 apartments and the Định Hòa Area 4 project with 3,190 apartments in Chánh Hiệp Ward, as well as the Việt Sing Area 2 and Việt Sing Area 7 projects in Thuận Giao Ward, which will provide 923 and 938 apartments, respectively.

All four projects will consist of residential towers ranging from 20 to 22 storeys.

Becamex said around 1,000 apartments in the latest phase would be developed under a rental housing model, with plans to add a further 2,000 rental units in subsequent phases.

The projects are part of Việt Nam's efforts to expand social housing supply amid rapid urbanisation and growing demand for affordable accommodation among industrial workers.

HCM City has been assigned the country's largest social housing target, with nearly 199,400 units to be completed by 2030.

Speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony, Deputy Minister of Construction Nguyễn Văn Sinh called for greater private sector participation in social housing development, citing growing demand nationwide.

Hoàng Nguyên Dinh, vice chairman of the HCM City People's Committee, said social and rental housing remained the city's priority to improve housing access for workers and low-income residents.

He called on developers and authorities to accelerate project implementation while ensuring construction quality.

In addition to the four projects launched on Friday, Becamex is completing two other social housing developments, bringing the total number of projects currently under development to six, with more than 10,400 apartments expected to accommodate over 31,000 residents.

Becamex, one of Việt Nam's largest industrial park developers, launched its social housing programme in 2011 and expanded into worker housing in 2018.

The company said it plans to develop more than 34,000 additional housing units in the coming years, including over 5,200 rental apartments.

HCM City has broken ground on nine social housing projects with nearly 11,000 apartments so far this year and plans to start construction on other 59 projects with almost 54,900 units in the third quarter, targeting completion by 2027.

Becamex is 95.44 per cent owned by the HCM City government. — VNS