Article and photos: PHUOC BINH
Can Tho City is implementing a series of key projects to create momentum for local economic development and that of the Mekong Delta region. In order for the projects to be implemented soon, the issue of creating new housing for people who have lost their land needs to be done quickly and early so that people can feel secure in handing over their land to the project...
Demand for resettlement increases sharply
Mr. Nguyen Van Hieu, Secretary of Can Tho City Party Committee, inspected VSIP Vinh Thanh Industrial Park project.
Mr. Duong Tan Hien, Permanent Vice Chairman of Can Tho City People's Committee, said: “The city has 14 key projects; of which 9 projects use public investment capital, 2 projects of the Central Government in the city (including Can Tho - Hau Giang Expressway project, Chau Doc - Can Tho - Soc Trang Expressway project), and 3 projects with non-budgetary investment. Recently, the City People's Committee has directed the site clearance, accelerated the construction progress of the projects to complete them soon, contributing to promoting socio-economic development...".
Besides the advantages, there are difficulties when some projects are behind schedule such as the expressway project passing through Can Tho city, which is facing difficulties in terms of scarce materials, especially sand for filling. For the Western Ring Road project of Can Tho city, which is more than 19km long, there are difficulties in compensation, resettlement and arising costs; about 35% of affected households have been paid compensation and support, but due to being scattered, it is not possible to construct all packages 16, 17, 19; the most difficult thing is that the resettlement areas of districts are in the completion stage and do not have resettlement land prices, so they are not qualified to be handed over to households, thereby affecting compensation, support, resettlement...
Some households living in Dong Thang commune, Co Do district said that this area specializes in agricultural production; previously, the travel conditions were difficult, now that the Chau Doc - Can Tho - Soc Trang expressway project passes through, people are very happy and ready to hand over land for the project to be implemented soon, only hoping that the relevant agencies will pay attention to the work of reasonable compensation. Ms. Tran Thi Dung, in Phong Dien district, shared: "We always support the investment in building new works to create an increasingly spacious face for the district. However, we always hope that the arrangement of resettlement land for people will be implemented soon...".
Currently, Can Tho City has 7 resettlement areas in districts such as Ninh Kieu, Cai Rang, Thot Not, Phong Dien... with a total investment of nearly 1,600 billion VND, arranging about 2,566 plots. However, this number is not enough because the resettlement demand is increasing. "In May 2023, the district had a resettlement demand for about 562 plots, but by June 2023, it had increased to more than 600 plots, while the district's resettlement area is nearing completion and can only arrange about 284 plots...", Mr. Nguyen Trung Nghia, Chairman of Phong Dien District People's Committee, worried.
Deploy multiple solutions simultaneously
Mr. Tran Viet Truong, Chairman of Can Tho City People's Committee, said that site clearance is an important step in the process of implementing key projects in the city. In addition to thousands of plots of land currently under urgent construction in 7 resettlement areas, it is forecasted that by 2025 Can Tho City will need about 10,000 more resettlement plots to arrange new accommodation for people affected by the projects. "This is the most difficult thing at the moment and in the coming years, because if the resettlement arrangement is delayed, it will lead to delays in site clearance and delay in handing over clean land to contractors. Thus, key projects will be delayed in construction. Currently, the city is trying to find many solutions to overcome this problem," Mr. Tran Viet Truong confided.
According to Mr. Tran Viet Truong, for a long time, the construction of resettlement areas has been funded by the state budget, but the budget source is not always sufficient and cannot be done quickly. Therefore, the city will study the issue of calling for investors to participate in the construction of resettlement areas to speed up the creation of new housing for households affected by the project. "Calling for private participation in the construction of resettlement areas is a very new issue, so it is necessary to study more about the appropriate and attractive mechanisms and policies to attract more investors to participate; at the same time, it must comply with legal regulations," said Mr. Truong.
Another option that Can Tho City is also considering is "resettlement without land allocation". Accordingly, a pilot apartment project for resettlement will be implemented in Ninh Kieu district. This apartment will be allocated clean land, which can be part of the resettlement project in An Binh ward (Ninh Kieu district), invested by the City's ODA Project Management Board, or the land on both sides of Nguyen Van Cu street. It should be noted that in the past, there were households who received resettlement land but did not live there, but sold it. In these cases, localities can consider resettlement options by "giving cash" equivalent to the land on the market. With this amount of money, people can buy land in other real estate projects outside. Or some households who want to buy rice fields and garden land in more remote areas to stick with farming will also be facilitated... In short, the city is aiming to diversify resettlement arrangements from concentrated to dispersed. However, in principle, the rights of resettled people are guaranteed equally.
Mr. Nguyen Van Hieu, Secretary of the Can Tho City Party Committee, acknowledged: “The city is implementing many important and key projects; these are considered projects that create new momentum for the development of Can Tho City and the Mekong Delta region, so the departments, branches, and districts need to consider them as important tasks, closely follow the implementation process and speed up the progress, not shirk responsibility. On that basis, the functional branches and districts must pay more attention to resettlement for people affected by the projects. Accordingly, when building resettlement areas, it is necessary to choose the best location and place and ensure the best infrastructure, the best housing for people compared to the old place. How to make resettlement areas truly attractive to people to live here, have conditions for trading, doing services... have a good source of income, helping people change their lives. It should be noted that these new resettlement areas are an opportunity for the city to improve urban development to become more spacious and modern, worthy of being the central city of the Mekong Delta region...".
Source link
Comment (0)