The issue was mentioned at a seminar on the city’s heritage preservation in November 27.

Twenty-five years ago, HCM City approved an urban architecture preservation plan, listing 108 works. However, to date, the plan has mostly failed as many of the sites have been harmed, while many others have disappeared. 

An old villa in HCM City needs to be preserved

According to Associate Prof. Dr. Nguyen Minh Hoa from HCM City University of Social Sciences and Humanities, only 5-7% of the city’s heritage have been ranked nationally, which is a very modest figure. District 3 boasts many French-styled buildings, but none of them are ranked.

Particularly, a range of historical sites have been destroyed such as Chi Lang Park; Saigon Tax Trade Centre; and Tran Chanh Chieu Market, Saigon’s first rice market.

The municipal Department of Planning and Architecture listed around 1,300 old houses and villas with lots of them privately-owned.

Many other old buildings and villas have fallen into disrepair.

Under city regulations, if the villas are museums or state-owned houses, they can be maintained and preserved. However, a large number that are private properties have not been taken care of properly. Some of the villas are so dilapidated they are no longer habitable.

Some old villas in HCM City are managed by the state, while others are privately owned.

Most of the villas, especially those located in expensive locations in the city centre, have been replaced with high-rises.

Many owners of privately-owned villas and old buildings have sold them for various reasons.

The city does not have support or management policies to help owners preserve their houses.

To save the old villas, more research and evaluation should be done to determine the value of the old villas, experts have suggested.

Cultural agencies as well as independent professional associations and professionals in the field could undertake these tasks.

Owners who are considering dismantling or repairing their buildings would think twice about doing so if they were aware of the economic value of their buildings, according to experts.

In addition, information on heritage buildings should be available on websites and in the media, preservationists said at the seminar.

Associate. Prof Nguyen Van Trinh, deputy head of the HCM City Development Research Institute, said the significance for heritage preservation is how to harmornise interests between society and heritage owners.

To leverage heritage for tourism, HCM City should have excellent policies enforced in lockstep with raising local community awareness, experts recommended. 

Lessons can be learned from Japan, which effectively uses heritage for tourism while applying stringent laws, including the law for the protection of cultural properties.