Lifting Bottlenecks in Land Access

Access to land is a component of the Provincial Competitiveness Index (PCI). This important indicator gauges the province’s appeal to investment flows.

Mr. Nguyen Van Phu, Director of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment, said Hung Yen province applied many solutions to ensure easy access to land for businesses to shape an enabling business environment.  Nguyen Bach reports.

Could you please describe specific actions recently adopted by the Department of Natural Resources and Environment to improve the Land Access and Security of Tenure Index?

Land access and security of tenure in business is always something that enterprises are particularly concerned about. However, the PCI 2020 rankings showed that Hung Yen province witnessed some decliners over 2019, including the Land Access Index. By clearly identifying difficulties and shortcomings in existence, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment proposed many specific actionable solutions to address them to facilitate enterprises to access land.

Regarding land-use planning, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment assisted the Provincial People's Committee in formulating the revised Hung Yen land-use planning to 2020 as per Resolution 27/NQ-CP dated April 17, 2018 and submitting it to the Government for approval, ratifying the revised land-use planning to 2020 of 10 districts, towns and cities in 2018, and establishing the provincial land-use plan in 2021-2025; coordinated with the Department of Planning and Investment to formulate the provincial planning in 2021-2030; appraised and submitted the land-use master plan to 2030 of 10 districts, towns and cities to the Provincial People's Committee for approval, in which the land fund was arranged for national defense, security, socioeconomic development and business investment.

As for approved land-use master plans and detailed plans, the Provincial People’s Committee, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment, the District-level People’s Committees and Commune-level People's Committees are responsible for publicizing them according to the 2013 Land Law and the Law on amendments and supplements to some articles of 37 plan-relating laws in 2018. The province actively published land-use master plans and detailed plans to make land information public and transparent. Investors searching for information on planning and investment locations can easily access it. However, there are still shortcomings resulting from inconsistent sectoral plannings - one limitation for investors to access land and construction information.

Besides, the reform of land-related administrative procedures is paid special attention. Accordingly, by enacting the Land Law, governmental decrees and provincial administrative reform schemes and plans, land procedures have been continuously streamlined (the time for completing procedures on changing the lease term is reduced from 15 days to 7 days, procedures on land allocation and land lease from 30 days to 20 days, procedures on assessment of land-use demand, land allocation, land lease, and land-use repurpose from 30 days to 15 days). Large investors coming to Hung Yen quickly access land procedures and soon have premises for their investment projects.

Regarding land acquisition and site clearance, Hung Yen province only advocates taking back land from delayed investment projects and inactive projects, to be given to law-violating projects. Stably working investors will be further encouraged and supported to invest with confidence and ease. Particularly, land clearance still took a long time in some investment projects because local residents disagreed with land compensation and asked for excessive prices. The Department of Natural Resources and Environment advised the Provincial People's Committee to approve the Project on “Improving land clearance for investment projects” as per Decision 3022/QD-UBND dated December 28, 2021. Specifically, the department requested District-level People's Committees to speed up progress and expeditiously complete land consolidation documents and land-use right certificates, house ownership and other assets attached to the land.

Administrative reform, with a focus on administrative procedures, has been stepped up by Hung Yen province as one of important solutions for a better business environment. For the natural resources and environment sector, would you mind telling more specifically about solutions to and results of this work?

To simplify, clarify and publicize relations between governmental agencies with organizations and citizens, over the past time, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment has always focused on fostering administrative reform, simplifying procedures and reducing settlement time; strengthened interoperability in handling administrative procedures, used digital platforms to solve administrative procedures to reduce travel time and cost for organizations and businesses, and promptly removed difficulties and obstacles for people, businesses and investors in implementing administrative procedures, helping improve the business investment environment and enhance the provincial competitiveness.

The department has regularly reviewed administrative procedures within its jurisdiction and submitted the list of newly promulgated, amended or abolished administrative procedures relating to natural resources and environment to the Chairperson of the Provincial People's Committee for official announcement.

Information on administrative procedures, processes and methods is available on its website and the province’s public service information channels. The Department of Natural Resources and Environment ensures publicity, transparency and ease of access for people, organizations and businesses searching for, mining and using such information.

Currently, 100% of administrative procedures within its authority are received and entered into a database through the province's electronic single-window software, enabling citizens and businesses to send their documents online via the software, keep track of document processing, and receive results on the software or through public postal services. The department has actively promoted public services to Level 3 and Level 4, including 43 administrative procedures of Level 3 (53.1%) and 38 administrative procedures of Level 4 (46.9%). The department has regularly informed, guided and encouraged organizations and enterprises to submit online documents relating to the natural resources and environment sector. At the same time, it has also assigned working targets to relevant subordinates within their scope of functions.

With the goal that Hung Yen province will stand among Top 45 provinces and cities on the national PCI ranking by 2023 as stated in Directive 12/CT-CTUBND dated September 23, 2021, what solutions will the Department of Natural Resources and Environment focus on to improve the Land Access Index in the coming time?

On September 23, 2021, the Hung Yen Provincial People’s Committee issued Directive 12/CT-CTUBND on effective implementation of solutions; improved the sense of responsibility, attitude and quality of public service performance of officials and civil servants in order to raise the Provincial Competitiveness Index (PCI) of Hung Yen province. Accordingly, by 2023, its PCI rankings will stand among Top 45 provinces and cities on the national rankings, making Hung Yen an attractive destination for domestic and foreign investors. In the coming time, in order to further improve the Land Access Index in the spirit of Directive 12/CT-CTUBND, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment is resolved to focus on specific tasks and solutions below:

First, further upholding the sense of responsibility and self-discipline in performing tasks at work; resolutely preventing and handling public employees who harassed or troubled people and businesses in settling administrative procedures.

Second, strengthening coordination in provincial planning, including integration of planning components; guiding and urging districts, towns and cities to review and adjust district-level land use plannings to ensure compliance with approved master plans.

Third, further reforming and simplifying administrative procedures, especially administrative procedures relating to land, environment, water resources and minerals; strengthening reviews to recommend amendments, supplements or replacements of administrative procedures to competent authorities; reviewing and promulgating documents based on, adapted to superior documents; training and retraining public employees towards given professional standards and ethics of the natural resources and environment sector.

Fourth, intensifying inspection and supervision of master plans and detailed plans on land use; implementing the Project on “Improving the effect of land clearance for investment projects”, guiding and removing difficulties and obstacles for District-level People's Committees to carry out site clearance to create an available land fund and handing it over to investors soon.

Thank you very much!

By Vietnam Business Forum