Vacant land lots scattered among Hanoi apartment buildings will be up for grabs at auctions this month.

The city will sell bidding application forms through Monday. The forms are required to attend the auctions.

The first auction is expected to be held next Wednesday, selling lots of 45.5-54 square meters in Tay Ho District at the offering price of VND22 million a square meter.

These lots are located near markets, schools, police stations as well as within the municipal power and lighting network, according to the city government.

Next Saturday people can also bid at the second auction for land lots at the old Animal Health Center and the Tax Department of Phuc Tho District at the offering price of VND3-4 million a square meter.

Hanoi had previously planned to carry out 83 land auctions by the end of this year to collect a total of VND3.42 trillion (US$187 million) for the state budget. However, the city has only earned 19 percent of the money as only 14 auctions have been launched at 11 districts, earning VND649.3 billion.

The auctions this week had been delayed from previous dates, according to the Hanoi People’s Committee.

Vu Van Hau, director of Hanoi Department of Natural Resources and Environment, said both the cooled real estate market and the auction organizers were to blame for the delays and lack of progress towards the auctions’ overall annual goals.

Source: Thanhnien News