Close-up of the 'golden' land abandoned for nearly 10 years in the center of Ho Chi Minh City

Land plot No. 135 Nguyen Hue and 39 Le Loi (Sai Gon Ward, Ho Chi Minh City), with an area of over 9,000 m², was expected to become a 40-storey commercial - service - hotel center, starting construction in 2017 and completed in 2020. However, after Tax Trade Center Demolished in 2016, the project has not been implemented yet, leaving the prime land fund on Nguyen Hue - Le Loi street vacant for nearly 10 years.

In 2021, Saigon Trading Group - One Member Co., Ltd. (Satra) proposed to lease land without auction to implement the project, but the ministries and branches said that this proposal was not suitable because the land is public property and the investment field is outside the main business line. The Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee then assigned the Department of Finance to guide the enterprise in implementing the land arrangement and handling plan according to Decree 167 and clarify the legality of the project.

Recorded by VTC News Electronic Newspaper reporter, area golden land What used to be the Tax Trade Center - a 130-year-old commercial symbol of Saigon - is still an empty lot, with only a few workers setting up a tent to prepare for a short-term event.

In May 2025, Satra proposed that the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee propose to the Government to allow businesses to lease land without auction under the 2024 Land Law to continue investing.

The company said it spent more than VND487 billion during the project preparation phase, including more than VND300 billion for compensation and resettlement support. Since 2016, Satra has had to pay more than VND640 billion in land rent.

Satra believes that if the project is not continued, the enterprise will have difficulty in recovering and settling the expenses that have been made, including 199 billion VND in compensation for households and more than 100 billion VND in support of an additional 40% of the value of real estate according to the city's policy.

In September 2025, the Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee issued Document No. 2353, directing Satra to coordinate with the Department of Finance, Department of Construction and Department of Agriculture and Environment to review all legal documents, clearly defining the conditions for continuing to use the land plot at 135 Nguyen Hue - 39 Le Loi to implement the project.

In case of ineligibility, the enterprise must have a document to return the land to the State, according to the regulations on arrangement and handling of state-owned houses and land. At that time, the People's Committee of Saigon Ward will preside over the inspection, measurement, preparation of records for recovery and handover of the land to the Ho Chi Minh City Land Fund Development Center for management.

According to the Department of Agriculture and Environment, the Tax Trade Center land is public property, which was recovered from the Noga Saigon joint venture and handed over to Satra for management. Therefore, the most feasible solution at present is for the enterprise to voluntarily return the land if it is no longer qualified to implement or if the competent authority has not approved the investment project.

Mr. Tran Trong Nghia - Head of the Economic , Infrastructure and Urban Department of Saigon Ward, said that currently, departments, branches and Satra are coordinating to comprehensively review the current status and legal documents to report to the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee for consideration and final handling. "The Tax Trade Center land is located in a central location, has great economic, cultural and urban landscape value. The City directs to handle it strictly, in accordance with regulations, ensuring effective land use, not allowing the situation of abandonment or misuse to continue," said Mr. Nghia.

Built in 1880, Tax Trade Center was once the busiest shopping center in Saigon, located between three major streets Nguyen Hue - Le Loi - Pasteur. After being demolished to make way for a commercial center project connecting to Metro Station No. 1, this land has not been reused to date.

Ho Chi Minh City's request for Satra to clearly define its capacity to implement or return the land is expected to end the waste that has lasted for nearly a decade and soon put this golden land into effective exploitation, worthy of its central location in the city.

Source: https://baolangson.vn/can-canh-khu-dat-vang-bo-hoang-gan-10-nam-giua-trung-tam-tp-hcm-5062226.html