S. Korea signs tentative agreement with Vietnam for city development cooperation

SEOUL: South Korea's land ministry said Wednesday it has signed a tentative agreement with Vietnam's construction ministry to cooperate in city and town development projects in the Southeast Asian nation. South Korean Land Minister Park Sang-woo signed a memorandum of understanding with his Vietnamese counterpart, Nguyen Thanh Nghi, on the cooperation on urban and social housing development during his trip to Hanoi on Tuesday, the ministry said. The ministry said it expects the Vietnamese government to formally establish ways for Korean companies to participate in urban development projects in the country, such the one in the Bac Ninh region and Hanoi's plan to build 1 million social housing units by 2030. Nguyen said Vietnam aims to increase its urbanization rate from the current 43 percent to 50 percent by 2030 and expressed hope that South Korean companies will actively participate in Vietnam's urban and housing development. Park said South Korea's experience in managing rapid urbanization through new city development and urban redevelopment will serve as a valuable example. He promised to share South Korea's experience and knowledge on land and fund procurement, as well as housing allocation methods, with Vietnam. The South Korean minister also requested cooperation from the Vietnamese construction ministry to facilitate the participation of the Korea Land and Housing Corp. in the Bac Ninh region's development project. Source: Yonhap News Agency