Financial difficulties have so far deferred the relocation of higher education institutions to the spacious outskirts of Ho Chi Minh City, according to the local Department of Planning and Architecture (DPA).

The Ho Chi Minh City University of Social Sciences and Humanities campus is seen in this picture.

But nothing much has been done ever since, which DPA vice director Nguyen Hoai Nam says is mainly due to the economic downturn.

Nam explains that a sluggish property market should be blamed first because school managers hoped to reap big money from selling current campuses for the relocation work.

“However, nobody would offer a good price for the campuses now as the market has been frozen for years,” he says.

He shifts the blame next to the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the Ministry of Finance, which he says have been instructed by the government to arrange funding for the city.

“They have yet to work out a financial mechanism for the repositioning as requested by the government,” the official complains.

It is going to cost a huge amount of money to move these schools to the suburban areas, Nam stresses, adding that some may stay put in the relocation plan, depending on their history and significance.

Ho Chi Minh City plans to move its junior colleges and universities to three different zones: northwestern Hoc Mon and Cu Chi Districts, Saigon South, and the northeastern part.

In the northwest, a 660 ha area has been allotted to the Ho Chi Minh City University of Education, Ho Chi Minh City University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Ho Chi Minh City Open University, Saigon College of Arts, Culture, and Tourism, and Vietnam International University Township.

In Saigon South, 735 ha land has been earmarked for the Universities of Social Sciences and Humanities, Sports, Finance and Accounting, Saigon University, Ton Duc Thang University, and some others.

In the northeast, another 815 hectares has been reserved in Districts 9 and Thu Duc and Binh Duong Province’s Di An District which will accommodate the Vietnam National University – Ho Chi Minh City, Ho Chi Minh City University of Law, Ho Chi Minh City University of Economics, Ho Chi Minh City University of Marketing, and others.