Delays in Approval Process and Other Contributing Factors
Lotte Group has notified local authorities of its intention to halt the massive Tutiem Ecosmart City complex project, worth approximately 1 trillion won, which it had been pursuing in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
According to industry sources on August 23 (local time), Lotte Properties Ho Chi Minh, the main entity behind the project, sent an official letter to the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee on August 20, stating that it would discontinue the project and return the allocated land. The company cited a surge in costs such as land use fees due to prolonged project delays, as well as changes in external conditions such as amendments to relevant laws, as reasons for this decision.
Back in 2017, Lotte Properties Ho Chi Minh signed a business contract with Ho Chi Minh City and made an initial capital investment of 220 billion won to launch the project. The plan was to build a large-scale mixed-use complex on a 50,000-square-meter site in the Tutiem district of Ho Chi Minh City, featuring five underground floors and 60 above-ground floors, and including commercial facilities such as a shopping mall, as well as offices, a hotel, residences, and apartments.
Originally, Lotte planned to invest about $900 million (approximately 1.2 trillion won) to develop a smart complex with a total floor area of 680,000 square meters-1.5 times the size of COEX. However, the project approval process was repeatedly delayed due to several independent factors: audits of Ho Chi Minh City development projects by the Vietnamese central government, the COVID-19 pandemic, and ongoing amendments to related regulations.
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