HCM City to reclaim land of 880 projects

The city People’s Committee has proposed the People’s Council consider passing the land acquisition projects and change the land use of projects below 10 ha agricultural land; below 20 ha forest land, specialized forest land within the land use planning in 2017 in all districts.

The land acquisition projects have an area of 8,000 ha, of which, 7,000 ha will be withdrawn. Ho Chi Minh City also has 321 projects for agricultural use which will be retrieved, of which, 316 projects are agricultural land and 5 projects are designated protective forest. 

There are nine districts in the city that want to change the land use allocation from agriculture to households and individuals. 

Previously, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc released a national land use rights plan for cities and provinces, the Ministry of National Defense, and the Ministry of Public Security. He also allocated land in Ho Chi Minh City for urban planning to 2020, including agricultural land of 88,005 ha, non-agricultural land of 117,810 ha, and urban land of 59,834 ha.

Hanoi, meanwhile, was allocated agricultural land of 174,429 ha, non-agricultural land of 159,716 ha, and urban land of 63,468 ha.

Accordingly, the People’s Committees of the central cities and provinces were requested to adjust their land use planning from 2016 to 2020. The government will then approve these in accordance with the Law on Land Use and ensure they meet the national land use rights plans.

The government also implemented land use planning to 2020. The agricultural land area under planning from 2011 to 2015 was 26,550 ha and non-agricultural land 4,448 ha, according to the Ministry of Justice.

The government has focused on land inspection this year, and accordingly the Prime Minister has approved a scheme to “Strengthen the Handling of Violations in Land Management and Use to 2020”. 

The objective is to implement solutions to overcome obstacles, improve detection, and resolve all violations in land management and use, bolstering the effectiveness of land laws and preventing violations nationwide.

Additionally, in August, the Ho Chi Minh City Real Estate Association (HoREA) proposed that the city’s People’s Committee agree to a 50% fee for converting agricultural land into residential land.

The city’s Department of Finance, meanwhile, has proposed an 80% fee in an attempt to increase the local budget. There is currently no fee imposed on converting land-use purposes.