"Suspended" projects and the issue of land resource management and use

(Baonghean)In July 2012, the Provincial People's Committee decided to revoke 8 suspended projects of 8 organizations and enterprises in the area because the investors did not implement the projects on schedule as prescribed. After that decision, the Provincial People's Committee established an inspection team to continue reviewing and adjusting many other projects. However, for some projects, there needs to be more drastic measures in handling assets on land.

The reality of "suspended" projects

Among the 8 suspended projects with a decision to revoke, there is 1 project that has been allocated land, which is the Vocational Training Center for the Disabled. The project of school and dormitory of the Vocational Training Center for the Disabled and Poor Students in Hung Dong Commune (Vinh City) was approved by the People's Committee of Nghe An Province for the master plan on May 4, 2007. The investor has completed all procedures for compensation and site clearance and has been granted land lease by the People's Committee of the Province in Decision No. 21/QD-UBND.DC dated March 4, 2008 with a project area of ​​12,505.20m2. To have land to implement the project, the People's Committee of Vinh City has decided to revoke the land since 2006.





After many years of being licensed, the school and dormitory project of the Vocational Training Center for the disabled and poor students in Hung Dong commune is still just a vacant lot.

However, since then, the project has been stopped at some items such as leveling the ground, surrounding walls and a temporary house made of bricks that is being rented to students. On April 24, 2012, the investor sent a document to Vinh City People's Committee requesting to terminate the project, but the content was unclear. Vinh City People's Committee requested the investor to have a document confirming the project's suspension no later than May 12, 2012, but so far there has been no response. Hung Dong residents are waiting for a definitive decision from the competent authority, so that more than 12,000 square meters of abandoned land can be put into effective use for the right purpose.

In addition to the vocational training center project for people with disabilities, 7 other projects were revoked in July 2012 because the investor did not implement the project on schedule, including: Saigon - Tan Ky Cement Factory; Iron ore processing workshop in Khanh Son commune (Nam Dan); Korean language teaching center - DS Power International Korea (Vinh City); Public transport by bus in Vinh City and surrounding areas; Planting raw material forests and rubber trees associated with agroforestry production; Improving poor forests in the direction of comprehensive business and sustainable development; Installing a frozen Surimi fish cake production line; Building a new 5,000-ton oil tanker for international routes, restricted to level 1. Of the 8 projects mentioned above, there are 2 foreign investment projects and only the Vocational Training Center Project for people with disabilities and poor students has a land revocation decision (in Decision No. 157 dated July 11, 2012 of the Provincial People's Committee). Along with the decision to recover, the Provincial People's Committee also assigned the Vinh City People's Committee to establish a valuation council to determine the remaining value of land rent and assets invested on the land; manage the entire recovered land area to put into use according to the planning.

Strengthening review and rectification

Implementing the direction of Directive 134/CT-TT on the inspection and handling of projects violating the Land Law, a number of inspection teams are conducting reviews. In addition to the 8 projects with the above-mentioned revocation decisions, recently, in Official Dispatch No. 4419/UBND.DC on handling the results of implementing Conclusion 612/KL.TTR1 of the Chief Inspector of Nghe An province, it was requested that for 3 projects that have not yet invested in construction of the entire project or have invested in construction of some project items but are currently not using the land, the entire land area of ​​3 project owners be recovered, including: High-quality hotel and motel service area project with Phuong Hong Joint Stock Company as the project owner; Diesel engine factory construction project with Thanh Tho International Trade Production Company Limited as the project owner; Agricultural and aquatic food processing factory construction project with Thach Son Thao Joint Stock Company as the project owner.

In fact, many “suspended” projects exist partly due to the laxity of land allocation procedures for project implementation. Meanwhile, the inspection process from the local government to relevant sectors is not thorough, leading to projects being abandoned for a long time without being handled promptly. The lack of regulations on land area restrictions, land types, users and a loose inspection and supervision mechanism leads to arbitrary land allocation and leasing, or taking advantage of land allocation and leasing with large areas to occupy land. Many cases of land allocation and leasing are then abandoned, causing waste and causing frustration in society.

According to the Land Management Department (Department of Natural Resources and Environment): The situation of using land for the wrong purpose and leaving it fallow is a common violation in many localities and many fields, leading to a huge waste in the use of resources. The recovery of land used for the wrong purpose and land left fallow is a regular and continuous task of the functional departments and branches and the Provincial People's Committee. Although many rounds have been carried out, the inspection and handling of violations in the field of land in the area has encountered many difficulties.

It is known that, implementing the plan of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, many hydropower projects in the province are also on the review list for issues related to land, environment, water resources and hydrometeorology. The inspection results are the basis for competent agencies to research, propose appropriate management solutions and amend and supplement legal regulations to protect the environment and effectively use resources in hydropower development. In addition, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment also issued a plan to inspect the management and use of land of agricultural and forestry farms and agricultural and forestry companies converted from agricultural and forestry farms. Currently, the provincial inspectorate and the Department of Natural Resources and Environment have also established inspection teams; initial inspection results show that, although large areas of land are used and many incentives are given, the efficiency of land use for production and business is not high. There are still violations of land laws in land management and use.

The campaign to review suspended projects and projects that have not been implemented on schedule for many years is a necessary and timely solution. The issue of public concern is the effectiveness of monitoring and handling violations as well as the determination to revoke projects that do not fulfill investment commitments, then invite new capable investors to take over or manage land use according to planning.

Thu Huyen