Lotte, Japanese partners to develop Eco Smart City

The Republic of Korean conglomerate Lotte will join hands with two Japanese groups to develop a multibillion-dollar real estate complex in Ho Chi Minh City.

The Eco Smart City will be built in the new urban area of Thu Thiem in District 2, Lotte chairman Shin Dong Bin said during a reception hosted by the city’s chairman, Le Hoang Quan, on March 4.

Japanese firms Mitsubishi and Toshiba will partner with the RoK food and shopping corporation in the megaproject, Shin added.

The US$2 billion development is expected to feature luxury trade centers, hotels, office buildings, and apartments on a 10-hectare land plot.

The developers aim to make Eco Smart City a modern, deluxe center of finance, commerce, and service, and an iconic architecture construction of the southern Vietnamese metropolis.

The project will be one of Lotte’s biggest overseas investments, according to chairman Shin.

Chairman Quan said the municipal administration is interested in the project and encourages the developers to complete the necessary paperwork soon to get its work started.

The chairman also suggested that the best time to break ground on the project is in September, when Vietnam celebrates the 70th anniversary of its independence.

Lotte and its Japanese partners received in-principle approval for the project from the city’s administration in April last year, according to The Saigon Times Online.

A Lotte representative said they had been pursuing the project for years before getting the approval.