Ho Chi Minh City faces a housing shortage caused by the rapidly rising population and shortage of new housing projects.

According to the Ho Chi Minh City Real Estate Association (HoREA), the city has around nine million permanent residents.

The population increases by 183,000 each year while there are more than 100,000 foreigners working and living in the city.

In the event, a municipal Department of Construction survey found 476,000 families have been unable to find housing, and most have to live with their parents or relatives.

To mitigate the shortage, the city plans to build 10,000 houses for low-income people and 35,000 hostels for industrial park workers and students.

The department’s director Le Hoa Binh said this year it has built more than 35.2 million square metres of accommodation.

The city expects to have another 38.2 million square metres by the end of the year. Binh said with the construction, the shortage would be completely met this year.

HoREA president Le Hoang Chau said the city needs to build more apartments to resolve the housing shortage.

HoREA has called on the city to build more housing at reasonable prices for low-income people and simplify administrative procedures for social housing projects.

In five suburban districts, Cu Chi, Can Gio, Binh Chanh, Hoc Mon, and Nha Be, it has called for upgrading traffic infrastructure to connect them with the city’s central areas to attract people to live there. Viet Nam News