Land of more than 400 households in Nghi Lien commune has been removed from Vinh Airport planning.

The representative of the people of hamlets 9, 10 and 17, Mr. Le Ngoc Nam, excitedly informed: “The Ministry of Transport has issued a Decision to adjust the land use scope of Vinh Airport. According to this Decision, the planned military land area has been reduced to only 38 hectares, not as before up to more than 238 hectares, including all the land of hamlets 9, 10 and 17. The people of our three hamlets are very happy that the "golden hoop" that has been placed on our heads for many years has been removed…”.

Mr. Le Ngoc Nam, representative of the people of hamlets 9, 10, 17, Nghi Lien commune. Photo: Nhat Lan

The information that Mr. Le Ngoc Nam provided is shown in Decision No. 769/QD-BGTVT of the Ministry of Transport issued on May 4, 2019 on approving the adjustment of the land use scope of Vinh International Airport for the period up to 2030 and orientation after 2030.

Decision 769/QD-BGTVT clearly states that it is adjusting the content of Point n, Clause 3, Article 1, Decision No. 347/QD-BGTVT dated January 29, 2015 of the Ministry of Transport. The adjusted content is as follows: The total land use demand of the Airport is 447.3701 ha, of which the land area for shared use of the airport is 330.1365 ha; the land area for civil aviation is 78.7690 ha; the land area for national defense is 38.4646 ha.

Decision No. 769/QD-BGTVT of the Ministry of Transport. Photo: Nhat Lan

Decision 769/QD-BGTVT takes effect from the date of signing. The Ministry of Transport assigns the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam to preside over and coordinate with the People's Committee of Nghe An province and relevant agencies to announce, manage and implement the planning...

According to Decision No. 347/QD-BGTVT in 2015 of the Ministry of Transport on approving the adjustment of the planning of Vinh Airport into an international airport in the period of 2030 and orientation after 2030, the total land use demand of the airport is 602.53 hectares. Of which, the land managed by civil aviation is about 75.22 hectares; the land managed by the military is about 238.70 hectares; the land for common use managed by civil is about 288.61 hectares.

The incident involving residents of hamlets 9, 10, and 17 of Nghi Lien commune occurred in 2017. During this period, when the consulting unit organized to collect comments on the detailed planning project of Nghi Lien commune, residents of hamlets 9, 10, and 17 were "shocked" to see that the place names had been erased, and replaced with Vinh Airport land.

The detailed planning drawing of Nghi Lien commune's subdivision does not have the names of hamlets 9, 10, and 17, leading to petitions from the people. Photo: Nhat Lan

Later, through research, people in the three hamlets learned about Decision No. 347/QD-BGTVT of the Ministry of Transport, which included information about "land managed by the military, about 238.70 hectares".

But in reality, the “land managed by the military, about 238.70 hectares” is residential land, garden land, production land, relic land, scenic land... that has been managed and used by the people for many generations. In the process of building the detailed planning project of Nghi Lien commune, the consulting unit used the planning of Vinh Airport in Decision No. 347/QD-BGTVT, so it deleted the names of 3 hamlets.

In the land area mentioned in Decision No. 347/QD-BGTVT as "land managed by the military", in addition to residential land, garden land, and production land of the people, there are also historical and cultural relics that have been ranked. Photo: Nhat Lan

Because of the impact on legitimate rights and interests, in 2017 - 2018, people in hamlets 9, 10, and 17 continuously submitted petitions to relevant authorities, ministries, branches, and central and local press agencies.

Early investigation into this matter, Nghe An Newspaper, through verification, confirmed that the petition of the people of 3 hamlets 9, 10 and 17 of Nghi Lien commune was legitimate and published many articles such as: "Implementing the detailed zoning plan of Nghi Lien commune (Vinh city): Listening to the wishes of the people"; The petition of the people of Nghi Lien commune (Vinh city) is legitimate!"; "Petition to clarify "land managed by the military" in the planning of Vinh Airport"...