21 June 2010 | By: Mohamed Hairul Borhan

Multinational companies and foreign-owned corporations with experience in developing urban areas will be given priority to invest and develop the upcoming Thu Thiem New Urban Area in Ho Chi Minh City’s District 2, said Trang Bao Son, deputy head for the Investment and Construction Authority for the township.

He said that the project, which covers 657 hectares on the Thu Thiem Peninsula in District 2, has attracted a stream of interest from foreign investors, and that three investors have been given the green light to proceed with their projects.

Work on Thu Thiem’s US$2 billion worth of infrastructure, including electricity, water and road projects and wastewater treatment and drainage systems, is scheduled to start at the end of this year and will take three years to complete. Mr Son added that all power lines and water pipes will be placed underground.

In addition, he said that the city’s government has given permission to US-based firm Sasaki to start a supplemental study to explore the possibility of constructing underground spaces in urban areas for parking space and a subway system.

When completed in 2020, the Thu Thiem New Urban Area will be a dynamic and diverse urban centre and that is able to accommodate 130,000 people. It will include an international exhibition and convention centre, a multi-purpose skyscraper, an entertainment and sports complex, an international financial centre and a central square.