Accordingly to the municipal Department of Finance, on August 20, 2025, it received a document from Lotte Properties HCMC Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Lotte Group, informing about the termination. The department did not mention the reason for the move.

The Lotte Eco Smart City project site in HCMC, southern Vietnam. Photo courtesy of Dau tu (Investment) newspaper.

The authority stressed that per the Investment Law, in case an investor decides to terminate an investment project according to the provisions of Point a, Clause 1, Article 48 of the Investment Law 2020, procedures will be carried out according to the provisions of Article 57, the Government's Decree 31/2021/ND-CP dated March 26, 2021 detailing and guiding the implementation of a number of articles of the Investment Law.

However, the department noted that up to now, it has not received documents per the mentioned-above provisions for the project to be terminated.

"Thus, in principle, Lotte Properties HCMC Co., Ltd. is still the investor implementing the Thu Thiem Eco Smart City project in Functional Area 2a, Thu Thiem New Urban Area according to the legal documents approved by competent authorities," said the department.

An illustration of Lotte Eco Smart City project in HCMC. Photo courtesy of Lotte Group.

The Lotte Eco Smart City Complex project broke ground in September 2022, but it has not taken shape to date, reportedly due to legal entanglements.

The $900 million project will cover 50,000 square meters, comprising a shopping mall, a hotel, office buildings, serviced apartments and a residential complex. It will include five underground floors and 60 above-ground ones, using smart technologies.

Group chairman Shin Dong Bin then said the Lotte Eco Smart City marked the start of Lotte's investment expansion drive in Vietnam.