Lotte Asset Development will create a business-leisure complex in Ho Chi Minh worth 2 trillion won ($1.9 billion), the company said Thursday.

A consortium of local conglomerate Lotte’s real estate development unit and some Japanese investors was named the preferred bidder for the Eco Smart City in the Vietnamese city’s Thu Thiem district in early March.

The group is expected to submit a master plan for the complex to the local government by the end of the year to finalize the deal. 

“Lotte Center Hanoi and the Thu Thiem development will be the pivotal points for Lotte’s advancement into the Vietnamese market,” said Lotte official Kim Min-geun.

The 100,000-square-meter Eco Smart City will consist of shopping malls, office buildings, hotels and service residences alongside apartments.

It is part of the Thu Thiem district development plan pushed by the Vietnamese government since 2002 to create a business hub of Southeast Asia. The 6.57-square-kilometer district is expected to become the “Pudong of Vietnam,” taking after the famous commercial-financial district of Shanghai.

Lotte’s Eco Smart City is also expected to create a synergy effect in bringing up the brand awareness and business reputation with its Lotte Center Hanoi, which will open in September.

Lotte Center Hanoi, a business-leisure complex in the Vietnamese capital, has a five-star hotel, office spaces, a serviced residence and a 65th-floor observatory.

By Bae Ji-sook (baejisook@heraldcorp.com)