Lideco is an abandoned French-style villas complex located at Hoai Duc district, 15km west of centre Hanoi. Between 2007 and 2013, more than 600 French-style villas were erected by Tu Liem Urban Development, JSC. – LIDECO (formerly known as Tu Liem Construction Firm), the beginnings of what was supposed to be a model residential project. Work started in 2008 and the site was completed in 2013.
The idea was to create a place where residents could enjoy all kinds of high-life luxuries like tennis courts, shopping malls, and enormous houses. The neighborhood is centered around a small artificial lake, and was clearly envisioned as a home for the very wealthy. However, these five-storey mansions are almost entirely abandoned.
By the end of 2013 more than 400 had been sold, but as of now only a few buyers have actually moved in while the remaining units sit abandoned. Weeds grow inside the abandoned houses, encroached the roads and mould has already appeared on many walls.
There are people working on some of the buildings in an attempt to make Lideco ghost town a liveable and attractive place to live. For years, villas that have yet to find buyers have been used by several contractors as boarding houses for construction workers. Most of homes in Lideco Ghost Town remain unfinished or unoccupied.
Why was Lideco Ghost Town abandoned?
According to press sources, the Tu Liem Urban Development, JSC postponed the delivery to the home owners, and they demanded a 2% compensation for the delay, which resulted in the increased loans for the construction company. Work in the Hoai Duc district appeared to stop and the values of the Lideco abandoned buildings decreased.
Second possible reason that Lideco ghost town was not connected with key facilities as its lie far away from the inner-city and other residential areas, making houses unattractive to buyers. Most of the customers bought the houses and land as speculation. There are many abandoned residential areas in Hanoi.
