Efficient Utilization of Land Resources

The People’s Committee of Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) recently released a report on the plan for land management and effective land use in the city from 2023 to 2025.

Tight Management

According to the assessment of the People’s Committee of HCMC, overall, the city’s departments, districts, and municipalities have relatively good coordination in implementing the plan for land management and effective land use. However, some areas are progressing slowly.

The plan consists of six main issue groups which include city land planning and usage, evaluation of land management effectiveness, land finances, management of state-owned properties such as buildings and land, land administration, and the operational mechanism of the land development fund.

For the implementation of the plan from 2023 to 2025, the People’s Committee of HCMC emphasizes the need to prioritize and determine feasible schedules for land management work each year.

To improve the efficiency of land use, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment is tasked with coordinating with the local authorities to monitor and supervise the progress of annual land use plans approved by the city. They will also seek solutions to promote and resolve any obstacles in order to achieve at least 80% of the registered land use targets. Additionally, the department is responsible for proposing an assessment of the management and utilization of land through a land accessibility index.

In terms of administrative work, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment will collaborate with the Department of Information and Communications and the Department of Justice to establish a data system for real estate transactions and transaction values. This will be the foundation for state management agencies to verify, compare, and update information in the land information system. The focus will also be on improving the consistency and uniformity of land data.

Regarding land prices, the Department of Finance will study methods to calculate land price adjustment coefficients to determine specific land prices each year, ensuring that the coefficients are not subjectively decided by individuals with authority.

Efficient utilization of land resources contributes to the strong development of Ho Chi Minh City

Effective Exploitation of Public Properties

According to the report from the People’s Committee of HCMC, 60 organizations, units, and businesses have reported on the rearrangement and handling of public properties in accordance with Decree 167/2017. They have also proposed plans for rearranging and handling 363 addresses of public properties owned by 22 organizations and units. Among them, 25 addresses have been recovered due to the lack of demand from the organizations and units.

In the near future, the Department of Finance (Permanent Office of Steering Committee 167) will be responsible for inspecting and reviewing the management of public properties by organizations, units, organizations, and businesses in the city in accordance with Decree 167/2017 and Decree 67/2021 on the rearrangement and handling of public assets. Based on that, they will propose plans for rearrangement and handling according to regulations and consolidate and report them to the Steering Committee for consideration and decision by the People’s Committee of HCMC.

Any public properties that are used improperly or inefficiently will be reported to the People’s Committee of HCMC and the Ministry of Finance for consideration of revocation. These properties will then be auctioned to generate revenue for the city’s budget or be used for the city’s needs.

Regarding the public property fund, according to Huynh Thanh Khiêt, Deputy Director of the Department of Construction of HCMC, the Center for Housing Management and Construction Appraisal (under the Department of Construction of HCMC) is currently managing 44 addresses of public properties in accordance with Decree 167/2017. In reality, there are more than 1,800 addresses in the city that fall within this category. The Department of Construction will receive such a massive property fund, but further regulations need to be added to facilitate management and exploitation. Therefore, the Department of Construction has proposed that the People’s Committee of HCMC express its opinions to the government regarding the amendment and supplementation of the Asset Auction Law, including the addition of regulations for auctioning property leases.

The Department of Construction also proposed that the People’s Committee of HCMC approve a pilot project to auction the leases of public properties that need to be rearranged and handled according to Decree 167/2017 and Decree 67/2021. This will ensure effective management of public properties.

The department also recommended that the People’s Committee of HCMC provide guidance on the procedures and authority to make decisions on auctioning public properties, in order to expedite the auctioning of properties for which the city’s People’s Committee has already approved auction plans. According to the Department of Construction, the city has approved the auction of approximately 4,800 properties, but there is currently no auction process for the property fund. This needs to be addressed soon to recover funds for the city’s budget.

Creating an Investment Land Fund

Regarding the operational mechanism of the Land Development Fund, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment is responsible for leading the construction of regulations and coordination mechanisms for creating land funds in the city for urban development models that focus on public transportation-oriented development (TOD).

The Department of Planning and Architecture, in coordination with relevant departments, will establish an interdisciplinary task force to review land planning. The task force will propose areas for land retrieval and land fund creation for the peripheral areas of train stations on authorized routes and along the Belt Road 3. This work is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2024.

With effective land management and utilization, Ho Chi Minh City will experience robust development. Business Today