Trading house Marubeni Corp. and property developer Mitsubishi Estate Residence Co. are engaging in new residential projects in the northeastern Chinese city of Changchun with a local partner.

Construction work on one project will begin in March to provide about 1,400 residential units in an area where robust relocation demand is expected, with the completion scheduled for September 2024, the two Japanese companies said Friday in a press release.

The groundbreaking took place last October in the other scheme designed to provide about 2,100 units for completion in December 2024, aiming at young households seeking to buy starter homes in a different quarter of the Jilin Province capital.

The combined construction cost is estimated at 85 billion yen ($820 million), a Marubeni official said.

Marubeni and Mitsubishi Estate are the first Japanese businesses to engage in real estate development in Changchun.

The latest projects are the third and fourth for the companies, which have maintained their partnership with Chinese developer Jilin Weifeng Industry Co. since they launched their first in 2012.

The three firms set up Changchun Top Chance Property Development Co. in 2013 with a capital of 550 million yuan ($85 million), owned 40 percent by Marubeni, 35 percent by Jilin Weifeng and 25 percent by Mitsubishi Estate. The joint venture is also involved in the new projects.

A total of 2,040 residential units were sold out in the first two joint projects and the success has prompted their partnership to move on, the Marubeni official said, adding the Chinese economy will likely continue its recovery from the coronavirus shock.

(NNA/Kyodo)

==Kyodo

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