Tien Phuoc Co. Ltd. and 990 Co. Ltd. held a topping out ceremony for Le Meridien Saigon, a mixed-use project with a five-star hotel and a grade A office building on Ton Duc Thang Street in downtown HCMC. Once in place by late 2012, the project will provide the market with 350 hotel rooms and nearly 14,000 square meters of office space. Starwood Hotels & Resorts Group will manage the Le Méridien Saigon Hotel.

The 17.3-hectare resettlement quarter comprises a total of 1,844 apartments, including the 512 finished ones. The completed flats are sited in two apartment buildings, 28 levels each, that the developer started construction late 2008.

Mr. Quan, the City People’s Committee chairman, vice chairman Nguyen Thanh Tai, and representatives of District 2 and the developer cut the red ribbon to launch the new apartments. The City Mayor also presented electric fans as gifts to the new residents.

He told the new residents that Thu Thiem, where they are living, would become a financial and trading center of the country by 2020.

Vo Thi Dung, 60, one of the residents receiving the house keys this time, told Sai Gon Giai Phong, “I’m very happy to see such a new house.” In her hands were a token key and an electric fan she just received from the City Mayor.

South Rach Chiec LLC chairman Nguyen Thanh Lap said, “We’ve developed the project under a public-private initiative with the City People’s Committee. We’ve successfully completed 512 resettlement apartments and will continue to build the rest among the 1,844 in the project.”

The completed flats are of two sizes – 47 square meters with one bedroom and 61 square meters with two bedrooms.

This resettlement project area will also include a new kindergarten, primary school and market.

The project developer, South Rach Chiec LLC, is a partnership between Singapore property developer Keppel Land and two Vietnamese property developers namely Tien Phuoc Co. and Tran Thai Co.

This project is one of the city’s three resettlement projects that will build 12,500 apartments in all for dwellers who have to relocate because of the development of the Thu Thiem New Urban Area in District 2.

Le Meridien is a complex building consists of a five-star hotel of international standard and Class A office building with the total floor area of 43,625m2 including 3 basements, 24 storeys and 350 flats with total investment capital of USD 120 million.

Located in the favorable position in Ton Duc Thang, Le Meridien hotel is managed by the Starwood Group. When conpleting, this project will be the embellish point in the heart of city and deliver the high ranking accommodation. Particularly, this is the five-star hotel project performed by domestic contractor in the first time, it is the great honor of Vietnam contractors in general and Hoa Binh in particular. Hoa Binh is in charge of superstructure and finishing with the value of contract is about VND 500 billion.

On 12 January 2010, Vietnam and Singapore manifested their strong economic ties by signing several cooperation agreements at the witness of Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and his Singaporean counterpart Lee Hsien Loong, who arrived in Hanoi on the same day for an official visit.

On 31 August 2009, Le Meridien has signed its first hotel in Vietnam, Le Meridien Saigon. Owned by Tien Phuoc & 990 Company Limited, the hotel is scheduled to open in July 2012.

HCMC 31st Aug 2009, Le Meridien has signed its first hotel in Vietnam, Le Meridien Saigon. Owned by Tien Phuoc & 990 Company Limited, the hotel is scheduled to open in July 2012.

Le Meridien Saigon is part of a mixed-used 22-storey tower comprising of the hotel and office space. The hotel will feature 350 guest rooms, 4 restaurants and bars, a health club, an outdoor swimming pool, spa and close to 800 square meters of meeting space.

Located on Ton Duc Thang Street, in the heart of Ho Chi Minh City and along the Saigon River, Le Meridien Saigon will be within walking distance to the commercial and entertainment districts of the city and about a 45-minute car ride from Tan Son Nhat International Airport.

Miguel Ko, Chairman and President of Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Asia Pacific, said, “Vietnam is amongst the fastest growing nations in Southeast Asia and in the world and has been experiencing strong leisure and business travel within and into the country. The growing demand presents us with tremendous opportunities to better serve the needs of travelers.”