The HCMC government has again proposed the Construction Ministry issue a set of national technical criteria for apartments, including the minimum area of commercial apartments at 45 square meters, Thanh Nien newspaper reports.

The move is in response to an official letter of the ministry suggesting the city government allow for 20-25% of commercial apartments to measure 25 to 45 square meters each in residential projects in the downtown area where there is a high population density and insufficient technical infrastructure.

Housing projects on the outskirts of the city should be subject to a higher proportion of small apartments if there are a lot of factory workers there, according to the ministry.

Residential blocks in HCMC. The HCMC government wants the minimum area of commercial apartments fixed at 45 square meters each

However, the municipal government has repeatedly turned down the proposal, insisting that each commercial apartment should have a minimum area of 45 square meters in line with the National Standards TCVN 4451:2012 on basic principles for home designs.

The number of migrants from other parts of the country has been rising fast, by around 2,000 people a year, according to the municipal government. Therefore, the city’s actual population is around 13 million people.

However, an amended master plan for developing the city until 2025 which has received approval from the Prime Minister sets its total population at 10 million.

Rapid urbanization and strong growth in population and private vehicle ownership have put huge pressure on the city’s already-overstretched technical and social infrastructure.

Developing commercial apartments of less than 45 square meters each may lure more people from other parts of the country to come and settle down in the city, thus making matters worse./.

( VNF/SGT )