Ashui.com

Work on a US$930 million financial center is expected to start next month in Ho Chi Minh City, two years after it was licensed by local authorities, according to the project’s developer.

Nguyen Hoai Nam, general director of Berjaya Vietnam, a subsidiary of Malaysia’s Berjaya Land Berhad, told Tuoi Tre on Friday the construction of the Vietnam Financial Centre would kick start after the Lunar New Year which falls on mid-February.

Covering an area of 6.8 hectares in the city’s District 10, the complex consists of six high-rise buildings.

Each of the first five buildings includes 48 floors which will be dedicated to Grade A office space, five-star hotels and high-end service facilities. The remaining block with 30 floors will function as a luxury shopping center.

Licensed in February 2008, the project was among more than ten multi-billion dollar projects which were stalled in Vietnam last year due to the problems with land clearance, administrative procedures or the global economic crisis.

The Vietnam Financial Centre, whose construction will finally get off the ground next month, is scheduled to complete in 2013.

The Berjaya Land Berhad is a subsidiary of Berjaya Corporation Berhad, a major Malaysian conglomerate which is active in financial services, consumer marketing, travel, hotels and resort development and management, property investment, manufacturing and education.

Property development and education are among the group's primary business.

The group is also backing major real estate projects in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, including a $500 million residential and commercial project in Hanoi and a $3.5 billion international university township.