Nghe An: Resolutely reclaiming 'suspended' projects

(Baonghean)- At a recent meeting, Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Xuan Duong requested the sectors, Vinh city, towns and districts to seriously review the projects, determined not to 'let them slip through'.

Resolutely withdraw and cancel slow-moving projects

In recent years, there have been hundreds of investment projects registered in Nghe An with diverse fields such as: real estate, showrooms, commercial centers, production facilities, urban areas, hotels, factories... From 2014 to now, there have been hundreds of investment projects and among them, 357 projects have been put under inspection after review by sectors and localities.

According to the report of the Department of Planning and Investment, from 2014 to 2017, the Provincial People's Committee established 4 interdisciplinary inspection teams, depending on the project group, the head of the inspection team is the leader of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment (for project groups that have been allocated land, leased land), Construction (for project groups that have newly approved planning), Planning and Investment (for projects that have newly been granted Investment Certificates), conducting inspections of 357 projects. Of which, 75 projects were inspected in 2014; 74 projects were inspected in 2015; 103 projects were inspected in 2016 and 105 projects were inspected in 2017.

Provincial leaders inspect slow-moving projects on Xo Viet Nghe Tinh Avenue. Photo: Chau Lan.

Accordingly, the Provincial People's Committee has decided to revoke and cancel 62 projects from 2014 to 2017. Specifically, in 2014, 24 projects were revoked; in 2015, 12 projects were revoked; in 2016, 27 projects were revoked; in 2017, 3 projects were revoked. This number "startles" public opinion, because the large number of projects are not implemented and in addition, the number of 88 projects being extended, 29 projects being considered for revocation further shows the difficult reality of production, business and the not-so-bright capacity of many investors when registering projects.

Vinh City is the political and economic center of Nghe An province, currently attracting hundreds of real estate projects and commercial centers. Many of these projects have been slow to develop and have not been recovered.

The project of high-rise apartment buildings, villas, townhouses, supermarkets and offices for rent in block 13, Dong Vinh ward, Vinh city, the investor is Railway Construction Joint Stock Company is an example. The project has a scale of 41,989m2, the detailed construction planning project of "High-rise apartment buildings, villas, townhouses, supermarkets and offices for rent" was approved by the Provincial People's Committee in Decision No. 1078/QD-UBND.DT dated March 31, 2009. However, construction has not yet begun. On December 10, 2015, the Provincial People's Committee issued Decision No. 5813/QD-UBND approving the inspection results of the Interdisciplinary Inspection Team inspecting projects behind schedule and projects not implemented in the area, including the following contents: Terminate operations, revoke projects and assign the Department of Planning and Investment to notify investors, advise on terminating operations, revoking Investment Certificates for high-rise residential projects, villas, townhouses, supermarkets and offices for rent of Vietnam Railways Corporation.

After many years of non-implementation, the Provincial People's Committee has also decided to revoke the project of the Commercial Center, Hotel and Restaurant of Thao Nguyen Joint Stock Company (Nghi Phu Commune, Vinh City). In Vinh City, 12 projects were inspected in 2016. The Provincial People's Committee revoked 2 projects: the Environmental Improvement Project and Construction of Commercial Service Area, Complex Housing (planned area of ​​135.9 hectares) in the wards: Dong Vinh, Doi Cung and Cua Nam of the New Technology Construction and Application Investment Joint Stock Company, the Central University of Technology project (area of ​​27.691 hectares) in the communes of Nghi An and Nghi Duc - Vinh City of the Central Human Resources Training and Development Joint Stock Company.

Previously, the interdisciplinary inspection team advised to revoke 2 projects: The project of the Ecological and Ornamental Plants Center in Nghi Phu Commune, Vinh City of the Nghe An Ornamental Plants Association; The project of the Telecommunications and Information Technology Urban Area, with a planned area of ​​7.78 hectares in Ben Thuy Ward - Vinh City of the Post Office Investment and Construction Joint Stock Company.

After checking and holding a meeting in Vinh city, the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee assigned the Department of Planning and Investment to continue reviewing and withdrawing the following 4 projects: Mixed-use ecological urban area along Lam River of Ha Thanh Company Limited (Thanh Hoa) in Hung Hoa commune (Vinh city) and Nghi Thai commune - Nghi Loc, project land area: 1,033,707.0 m2; Luxury villa area, hotel, restaurant, entertainment area of ​​Saigon - Trung Do Vinh Joint Stock Company in Trung Do ward - Vinh city, project land area 136,757.7 m2; Son Ha urban housing area of ​​Son Ha Construction Joint Stock Company in Nghi Lien commune (Vinh city); Housing project in Yen Giang block, Vinh Tan ward (Vinh city) invested by Him Lam Nghe An Joint Stock Company. The Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee also assigned the Department of Natural Resources and Environment and the Tax Department to handle the BMC Vinh Plaza Commercial Center and High-rise Apartment Complex project at 92 Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Street. For other remaining projects that have paid investment deposits, the deadline for project completion is extended to December 30, 2018 at the latest.

In Cua Lo town, there are up to 10 real estate projects behind schedule with the land area granted for these projects being nearly 400,000 m2. The slow progress of the projects has affected the urban landscape and socio-economic development of Cua Lo town. For example, some projects are behind schedule: BMC Cua ​​Lo Plaza project invested by BMC Construction Materials and Commercial Construction Company Limited, granted an investment certificate by the Provincial People's Committee in 2008, with a land area of ​​over 5,000 m2, but no construction has been carried out yet. Song Hong Resort project implemented by Song Hong Construction Joint Stock Company, on an approved land area of ​​nearly 10,000 m2, construction progress from 2012 - 2015; Currently, the project has only stopped at completing leveling, site clearance, building surrounding fences, other items have not been implemented. The high-end apartment and villa complex combined with tourism and trade is invested by Hanoi Construction Joint Stock Company No. 3; Van Xuan University of Technology project; Elderly Care Center project invested by Nghe An Elderly Care Center; Hotel and motel project of Hanoi Tourism Joint Stock Company was granted more than 27,000 m2 by the Provincial People's Committee...

The Provincial People's Committee assigned the Department of Natural Resources and Environment to handle violations of the Land Law (slow project implementation) for 8 projects and revoke one project, BMC Cua ​​Lo Supermarket and Hotel (0.52ha) in Nghi Huong Ward, Cua Lo Town of BMC Construction Materials and Commercial Construction Company Limited.

The Cua Lo Town Tourism Hotel and Luxury Apartment Complex Project has been unfinished for many years. Photo: Tran Chau.

In other districts and towns, some projects were also cancelled, such as the Plaza Nam Dan Building of Ocean Bank in Nam Dan town, Nam Dan district, which was also terminated, had its investment registration certificate revoked, and related documents cancelled.

Clean investment environment from land treatment

In recent years, many investors when investing in Vinh, Cua Lo town have reported that they have to "buy back" the project or have to deal with the problems of the old project on the new land, which is very troublesome, costly and they have to wait due to project liquidation and site clearance. Some investors really want to invest but are afraid of the situation of "land already owned" so they give up. The real estate market is sometimes "hot" creating a wave of investment, but in recent years it has "receded" so many investors are waiting for the right opportunity; some do not have the capacity to invest so they have to keep the land vacant.

That is the reality on many prime routes such as Lenin Avenue, Xo Viet Nghe Tinh Avenue or in the suburban wards and communes of Vinh city such as Hung Hoa, Nghi Phu, Nghi An... Many people are upset when projects licensed since 2010 have not been implemented in Nghi Phu, Hung Hoa, but have not been recovered.

At the recent meeting of the Provincial People's Committee, after listening to the report on the project situation and the proposal of the Department of Planning and Investment, Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Xuan Duong frankly raised the question: Is there a situation of "fake repossession", are there "missing" projects that are not implemented but are not repossessable and what should be done after repossession, or are they left abandoned? "In recent years, the People's Committee has been strong in the issue of land repossession. Since 2012, Nghe An has repossess more than 100 projects. However, it still does not meet the demand, there are still too many project adjustments, and the repossession of projects has not been completed. Therefore, the Provincial People's Committee continues to repossess projects, creating a new breakthrough in land management, cleaning up the investment environment, attracting real investors, capable investors, and responsible investors" - the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee pointed out.

It is necessary to review the vacant project lands along Lenin Avenue and Soviet Nghe Tinh Avenue (Vinh City).Photo: Tran Chau

Also at the meeting, some localities said that it is necessary to resolutely revoke projects, and should not continue to extend them, especially for projects that have not been implemented. Mr. Doan Tien Dung - Chairman of the People's Committee of Cua Lo town stated: Some projects in Cua Lo town were not properly advised by the province, so when implemented, the handling was not appropriate and many projects need to be revoked.

According to each project group, Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Xuan Duong concluded: For 62 projects that have been revoked, it is necessary to continue to call for and attract new investment. For projects that are proposed to be revoked (29 projects), no later than August 30, 2017, there must be a document submitted to the Provincial People's Committee for signature to revoke. For 88 projects that are being extended, the Department of Planning and Investment needs to review and coordinate with the sectors to monitor, review, and request by September 30. The People's Committee of Vinh City and the towns need to review the types of projects and send them to the Provincial People's Committee for consideration and decision. The Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee also proposed that from now on, projects should not be divided into groups chaired by departments, branches, and sectors, but only an interdisciplinary inspection team should be established for joint inspection.

In fact, the omission of projects without implementation and without land recovery, lack of determination, unclear viewpoint in land recovery has greatly affected the development progress of the locality, lost opportunities for other investors and also lost opportunities for the province. Limiting project transfers, recovering land not in accordance with the Land Law, not attracting and leaving land abandoned is very necessary in the current period.

Pearl