HCM City authorities plan to publicise the city’s land fund so that all investors will have equal opportunities to access land for workshop premises.

There is demand, but there isn’t any land

Truong Trong Nghia, Deputy Director of the HCM City Investment and Trade Promotion Centre (ITPC), related a story to show the difficulties in accessing the land fund. The assistant to Bahrain’s Prime Minister and a delegation of the country’s businessmen had a working session with ITPC to discuss investment opportunities. After the meeting, they decided to make investment in hotels.

The businessmen planned to build several big hotels, 5-6 first-class hotels, which the city is now lacking. ITPC introduced Saigontourism to the businessmen. However, the hotel projects could not get underway because Saigontourism, though having a land plot, could not make a decision in the case. It had to wait for the approval of HCM City.

 “The city calls for investment, but when investors come, they are not allocated land,” said Mr Nghia.

He said that the map of the city’s land fund must be publicised to investors so that investors who have real demand for land for their projects can access land.

Hoang Anh Dung, Chairman of Conic, also said that it was very difficult to get land plots for real estate development projects. The state-owned land fund offers affordable prices, but is inaccessible, while private owned land plots prove to be too expensive for investors.

Mr Dung said that Conic once eyed several land plots and received invitations for joint cooperation from the land owners. However, Conic did not agree with the provisions offered by the partners: the land owner would lease the land to Conic for 20 years, Conic would develop the building on the land plot, and after that the building would belong to the land owner.

Best solution: opening land for bids

Currently, opportunities to get land for investment projects are not divided equally among all investors. Though the land fund is limited, several investors still get many land plots for their projects. For example, Bitexco has been allocated land for Ma Lang, Le Thi Hong Gam quadrangle area projects, while other investors have no land.

Tran The Ngoc, Director of the HCM City Department for Natural Resources and the Environment, said that the situation would be different as city authorities were planning to put land plots into bids, through which investors would get the right to ‘exploit’ the land.

Mr Ngoc revealed that 25 investors had registered to bid for the land plot at No 2 Dong Khoi street (over 6 ha, now the headquarters of the HCM City Department of Culture and Information).

He said that city authorities would enact an instruction on strengthening and heightening land use right management in the city. Under the instruction to be enacted, the city’s land fund will be open for all investors to register for use. Investors who want land plots of more than 20 ha must get the approval of the city People’s Committee. It is hoped that the use of the city’s land fund and the method of accessing land will become more transparent. (VNECONOMY, Lao động)