Chestnut Vina, the operator of Vietnam's highest building, Hanoi’s Keangnam Landmark Tower, has proposed that Hanoi authorities take over the management of the building from April 1 due to low service fees.
Keangnam Tower has seen numerous conflicts between tenants and the management board
Ha Jong Suk, Chairman of Keangnam-Vina Limited Company said that its subsidiary, Chestnust Vina, has incurred losses since the first resident came to live in the building in March 2011.
The company had not collected any service fees from residents between April and July 2011.
After applying a service fee of VND18,800 (USD0.9) per square metre per month and a parking fee of VND850,000 (USD40.74) on 500 households from August to October 2011, they faced strong opposition from residents. They were then compelled to reduce the service charge to only VND4,000 per square metre per month based on regulations set by the Hanoi People’s Committee.
Keangnam-Vina claimed that the fees were too low for such a high-end building. This modest fees are just enough for it to operate 20 elevators in the building and the company is suffering increasing losses.
The company have proposed that the Hanoi municipal government take over operation of the building. They will transfer technology for free-of-charge to any successor appointed by the authorities for two months.
Currently, residents who had lived abroad or lived in high-end apartments pay a service fee of VND18,800 per square metre per month, while another group pay the low fee applied by the municipal government. A small number of residents don’t pay any fee at all.
