Hà Nội residents are willing to surrender their homes for public infrastructure but refuse to let a business conglomerate evict them for its commercial real estate project.
The Latest: Taking residential land so a private company can build commercial apartments is one of the primary reasons individuals in Hà Nội’s Vĩnh Hưng ward fiercely oppose a Sun Group project, according to a survey by Luật Khoa.
- In early October 2026, Vĩnh Hưng residents learned of the draft 1:500 planning map for Sun Group’s urban renovation and redevelopment project in the ward.
- The map showed their land zoned for commercial apartment building, and public anger has spread since this discovery.
Survey Details: During visits to residential areas in Vĩnh Hưng, Luật Khoa found protest banners hanging in front of almost every home. Messages included:
- “We resolutely refuse to let residents’ land be taken for commercial apartments.”
- “We demand that residents’ land not be taken to build commercial apartments or serve business interests.”
For days, hundreds of residents have gathered at government offices at every level and marched through the streets to oppose the project.
- A common slogan during this march reads: “Don’t take people’s land and hand it to businesses.”
Residents surveyed firmly oppose the company taking their land for commercial apartments.
- They state that they cannot accept losing their land and homes without fair compensation just to enrich a business.
One middle-aged woman in Vĩnh Hưng told Luật Khoa: “If the project were [to open] a road, there would be nothing to say, but they’re taking it to build apartments and villas and then sell them.”
- She noted that residents would accept land recovery for a road right away “because wide roads make it easy and comfortable for people to get around,” and added that “if it were for schools or clinics, people would fully support it too.”
- “Instead, they’re pushing people to the wall to benefit a business. We have homes now, and we don’t know where we’ll go. Only the people suffer. The people lose out,” she said.
- She worries that the developer will take residential land, pay rock-bottom compensation, and then resell it for profit.
Furthermore, many individuals noted that even an apartment offered as compensation would not be fair; their homes have housed multiple generations, and the land could hold several houses or be built higher, whereas a single apartment cannot accommodate an extended family.
- “An apartment costs around 3 billion or 3.5 billion đồng (about $114,000 to $133,000), but it’s only 50 to 60 square meters, while a family has so many generations,” one resident said.
- They added, “If someone has 50 square meters of land, they can build a four- or five-story house, and a family of two or three generations can still live there. But 50 square meters is a single apartment floor. With a bathroom and living space and everything in there, how could three generations live in it?”
The Sun Group Project: Sun Group is carrying out a 447-hectare urban renovation and redevelopment project in Vĩnh Hưng ward, with a total investment of nearly 186 trillion đồng (about $7.1 billion).
- The project broke ground on Aug. 28, 2026, though state media did not mention it again until early October 2026.
- The Vĩnh Hưng Ward People’s Committee will collect public comments on the project’s 1:500 plan from Oct. 12 to Nov. 1.
Notably, many residents within the Red River Scenic Boulevard project area told Luật Khoa that they are willing to give up land for roads and public works such as schools and hospitals.
- However, they will not accept losing their land for commercial projects.
Why It Matters: Under Chapter 6 of the current Land Law, one of the main grounds for land recovery is “socioeconomic development in the national and public interest.”
- Additionally, on Dec. 11, 2025, the National Assembly passed a resolution on special mechanisms and policies for major development projects in Hà Nội.
- This resolution allows land recovery beyond the cases listed in the Land Law for projects in the national or public interest, as directed by competent authorities.
However, the state has not defined “socioeconomic development,” “national interest,” or “public interest,” or set specific criteria for them. In practice, many commercial projects have gone ahead under the banner of “socioeconomic development.”
- An example is the land recovery in Văn Giang, Hưng Yên, for the Ecopark commercial urban area.
Lê Sáng wrote this news article in Vietnamese andpublishedit in Luật Khoa Magazine on October 12, 2026. The Vietnamese Magazine translated it into English.