Gamuda Land is the property development division of Gamuda Berhad Group and it has been operating in Hanoi since 1995. It is Malaysia’s leading construction and infrastructure group, and has been voted the Best Managed Construction Company in Asia several times by Euromoney Magazine. Gamuda City – Hanoi is currently evaluated by many residents as a green model city or “a biggest green lung of the South of Hanoi”. Vietnam Business Forum had an interview with General Director Cheong Ho Kuan to learn more about this group. Doan Tien reports.
Gamuda City is strategically located in the centre of Greater Hanoi, just 6km from the old CBD. The 500 ha development consists of bustling business districts & commercial hubs, self-contained lifestyle townships and a world-class urban recreational park. Poised to be the next prime destination in Hanoi, Gamuda City showcases the best of living, education, entertainment, medical, hospitality and business experiences, a place where your heart truly belongs. With our vision as the premier developer of innovative lifestyle projects, Gamuda Land commits to focusing on building innovative and quality properties to enhance the completeness of a quality lifestyle.
Could you please brief us about Gamuda Land’s achievements since it established the office in Vietnam?
Gamuda has over the last 6 years successfully delivered on its commitment to Hanoi in the form of infrastructure facilities benefiting the people of the city.
Firstly, we have completed a part of recreational Yen So Park which when finished will become the biggest green lung of the South of Hanoi. 320-hectare world class Yen So Park project is one of vital elements of Gamuda City project. The unique concept of the park featuring from Cultural Gardens, Traditional Park, Future Vietnam, Celebration Square, North to South Parks are all constructed around Yen So lake. The Yen So Park project will be beneficial to promoting cultural and communal lifestyles, enhancing employment, business and investment as well as tourism opportunities in the South of Hanoi. Yen So park is scheduled to be handed over to Hanoi’s People Committee in the very near future.
Secondly, we have completed Yen So Sewage Treatment Plant which has a capacity of treating 200.000 m3 of wastewater per day, equivalent to half of Hanoi population’s wastewater daily. Yen So Sewage Treatment Plant has been successfully constructed as means of providing clean water to revitalize 5 lakes at Yen So Park bringing back the nature’s habitat. Furthermore, this move is in compliance with requirements of Decision No.57/2008/QD-TTg dated 29 April, 2008 by Prime Minister to implement General Program of environment protection on catchments of the Nhue and Day rivers of Hanoi. Last but not least, the achievement is to satisfy requirements for sewage treatment at catchments of Kim Nguu and Set Rivers in order to complete the common drainage network of the city enhancing hygienic conditions and living standards for residents within the project area. Of course, we are delighted to hand over Yen So Sewage Treatment to Hanoi’s People Committee soon.
In terms of development, we take pride ourselves in developing 500 ha Gamuda City project which is the Gamuda’s first self-contained lifestyle township in Vietnam beside Celadon City project in HCM City. To date, Gamuda Gardens – one of 4 main parts of Gamuda City is progressing as planned with the first phase of 360 units of semi-detached and tarraced residential units due to be handed over by the end of 2013. To some extent, when completed Gamuda Gardens will provide over 2000 modern homes which include villas, semi-detached, small terraced houses and apartments. The township also provides facilities and amenities including a recreational club, public and international schools, kindergartens, medical centers, neighborhood shops and commercial centres. With its unique garden concept, Gamuda Gardens has as a very low construction density of below 50 percent and the rest is full of green ambience of trees, gardens and parks. Gamuda Gardens is destined to be the most balanced and modern lifestyle township of Hanoi.
Since Gamuda Group has come to Vietnam, please share with us your thoughts and feelings about the life and work in this market?
Vietnam is a young and dynamic market which has a variety of potentials to unearth and develop. Vietnam is on the way to modernization so that Vietnam would need more investment in terms of domestic and foreign capital for the development of infrastructure to enable, sustain and enhance societal living conditions. Thus, since Gamuda came to Vietnam over 6 years, Gamuda has brought along a wealth of experience in property and infrastructure construction and engineering for the development of Vietnam.
Furthermore, since Vietnam joined the WTO, the market is getting more competitive which requires serious investment in the light of competence, experience and finance ability. Together with almost 40 year experience in the field of property and construction in Malaysia and other Asian countries, we are confident to understand and provide our expertise for long-term projects in Hanoi and HCM City regardless of size, time and financial factors.
As the matter of fact that cities of Hanoi and HCM are getting more and more congested. The cities seem not to have enough space, water and facilities to meet demands of the people. That’s why a modern township is preferable for those who wish to live far away from the hustle & bustle of city but still conveniently connected with the center. Moreover, Vietnam tends to have a young population. This group will move into a middle income group who can afford to purchase any property in accordance with high quality. They are better educated. Some have gone overseas and come back to the homeland with clear perception about good homes and planned townships for a better life. We understand this fact so that Gamuda City project is destined to be a modern & self-contained lifestyle township built within 8 – 10 years. During this period, the fluctuation in the real estate market is inevitable and we believe that our strong commitment, experience and finance competency will help us ride through the difficulties of the market and to achieve the final objectives which are for the future of Vietnam.
Could you tell us about Gamuda Land’s advantages in its operation in Vietnam?
In comparison with our competitors, Gamuda Land’s competitive advantages are our financial capabilities and a wealth of experience in infrastructure and construction that we have accumulated in Malaysia and some Asian countries. We believe that as long as we ride through the next 8 -10 years, we are able to sustain and to financially support the development of our projects such as Gamuda City and Celadon City. Obviously, our advantage over other competitors is that we are able to move forward to the development despite very difficult time of the economy. This firm move shows the public that these are the townships of Vietnam’s future.
On the occasion of the 40th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Malaysia and Vietnam in 2013, can you please talk about the aim for development of your business in the near future in Vietnam?
When we first came to Vietnam in 2006, we brought along our vision with a strong commitment of long-term prospective for all projects in Vietnam. Therefore, we still continue our task here in the long run.
Firstly, the rest parts of world-class recreational Yen So Park will be completed in the near future. As such, Yen So Park will become the largest green park of Hanoi particularly and Vietnam as a whole.
Secondly, the development of our large-scale lifestyle township project, Gamuda City will be progressing as planned with the completion of 2 main components including residential and commercial ones in the long run. To some extent, integrated Gamuda City project consists of 4 parts featuring Gamuda Gardens – a self-contained residential township, Gamuda Lakes – a premium residential enclave, Gamuda Central – the heart of Gamuda City and Gamuda Plaza – an exclusive low-density business park. We believe that building unique township projects in Vietnam, we build our trademark that will be deeply engraved in the people’s minds. That’s also our task to spread our brand name and to invest our expertise for the development of Vietnam.
We are confident in our competency so that we will continuously strive for the leading position as a major economic partner of Malaysia in Vietnam. We believe that what Gamuda invests into Vietnam is the strategic vision to bridge gaps between the 2 countries. This will be also a good practice for any Malaysian enterprise to refer for their investment into Vietnam.
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