Amending the Land Law promotes industrial development in provinces

The Land Law Project (amended) is considered a focus in the law-making work of the entire term of the 15th National Assembly. It was submitted to the National Assembly for its first comments at the 4th Session, and is expected to be submitted to the National Assembly for its second comments at the 5th Session of the 15th National Assembly (May 2023). By the 6th Session (October 2023), the Law will be submitted to the National Assembly for approval.

The outstanding issues of the revised Land Law project that are being consulted include: Rights of land users and legal relationships; land use planning and plans, financial issues, land prices, site clearance, etc.

One of the issues that has received attention from enterprises with investment capital in localities, especially localities with industrial parks, is how to easily access land? Regarding this content, Nguoi Dua Tin (NDT) had an interview with Dr. Tran Cong Phan, Vice President, General Secretary of the Vietnam Lawyers Association, Member of the 15th National Assembly.

Investor: The Land Law (amended) has been given its first opinion by the National Assembly and widely consulted with the public. Could you please evaluate the consultation process for the draft Law up to now?

Dr. Tran Cong Phan: The provisions of the Land Law are related to most economic, social, human rights and civil rights fields, so amending the Law will involve many other laws (according to statistics, it involves 112 different laws).

The Vietnam Lawyers Association is a socio-political and professional organization with the task of participating in the development and criticism of policies and laws. At the same time, as a member of the drafting committee, from the time the draft Law had not yet been submitted to the National Assembly until its first submission, we organized many workshops to provide comments on the draft Land Law (amended). At the workshops, we also gathered many contributions from scientists, jurists, lawyers, legal experts, etc.

Through that, the Lawyers Association has collected and honestly reflected the opinions of scientists and experts to the National Assembly and competent authorities in amending the law.

We all hope that when amending the Land Law, the problems and difficulties through summarizing the practical implementation of the law will be overcome, better serving the socio-economic development and especially the amendment of the law must ensure the harmony of interests of the participating parties, the subjects in society related to land in general and land use rights in particular.

Dr. Tran Cong Phan, Vice President, General Secretary of the Vietnam Lawyers Association, XV National Assembly Delegate, talks with reporters.

Investor: Could you please tell us how the amendment of the Land Law will help remove obstacles so that businesses in the provinces, especially those with industrial parks, can easily access land?

Dr. Tran Cong Phan: In practice, the legal framework related to land leasing in industrial zones has revealed many shortcomings; documents guiding the implementation of regulations in the 2013 Land Law and related laws are still unclear and inconsistent... This leads to inconsistent application of regulations in localities with industrial zones, causing difficulties in accessing land for both investors and lessees.

Regarding this issue, the draft Land Law (amended) has provisions on the responsibility of investors in construction and business of infrastructure of industrial zones and clusters to reserve a proportion of land area for the State to implement land policies (Article 168 of the draft Land Law (amended):

It is necessary to stipulate that investors must reserve land for the Provincial People's Committee or the Investor of the project to build and operate infrastructure of industrial parks and clusters for small and medium enterprises and facilities relocated due to environmental pollution to lease land or apply other support policies.

However, it is necessary to give local authorities the initiative to determine the method of supporting this group of people in accordance with the reality of each locality. At the same time, it is necessary to specify the conditions, criteria, and appropriate, uncomplicated procedures so that businesses can access this land fund openly and transparently, avoiding the "ask-give" mechanism.

The Vietnam Lawyers Association has organized many workshops to contribute ideas to the draft Land Law (amended).

Investor: In your opinion, how will the amendment of the Law help create incentives for industrial provinces such as Thai Nguyen, Bac Giang, Bac Ninh... to develop?

Dr. Tran Cong Phan: I think that amending the Land Law will not only remove existing difficulties and obstacles, reduce legal risks for management agencies and enterprises, but also contribute to unlocking resources for development, promoting investment and business activities. Thereby, promoting growth, creating more jobs for local people, especially localities with industrial parks and industrial clusters such as Thai Nguyen, Bac Giang, Bac Ninh, etc.

Investor: Looking at Thai Nguyen province, the province has the advantage of being located in the Capital Region, with rapid urbanization, modern transport infrastructure, Thai Nguyen real estate is highly appreciated by investors for its good profit potential and high liquidity. In your opinion, what needs to be done to make Thai Nguyen in particular and provinces with industrial clusters and industrial parks in general increasingly attract investors?

Dr. Tran Cong Phan: There are many things to do, but first of all, the Land Law must be amended to create economic development and promote investment and business activities. In particular, the amendment of the law must consider a number of important regulations related to business activities. For example, the content of changing from one-time land lease to annual land lease must ensure stability and convenience for business people. Because, according to the provisions of the current Land Law, the rights of land users who pay annually are much more limited than those who pay once. In fact, in some localities, there have been increases in land rent (land prices change and fluctuate), affecting the business plans of businesses that rent land and pay annually.

In addition, if fundamental issues such as land leasing, land use rights auctions, land-using project bidding are amended, the door will be opened for investors to do business in the localities. This will create a driving force for local economic development, ensure jobs for local people and contribute to the overall development of the country's economy.

At the same time, many provisions of the Land Law are closely related to other business laws such as: Investment Law, Construction Law, Housing Law, Real Estate Business Law, Urban Planning Law, Planning Law, Civil Code, etc. Therefore, when building and amending the Land Law, it is necessary to consider synchronously amending related laws to ensure consistency and limit overlap, causing obstacles and congestion in investment and business activities.

Currently, laws such as the Housing Law, the Real Estate Business Law, and the Bidding Law are being drafted and opinions are being sought on amendments and supplements. This is an opportunity to adjust the remaining points and conflicts between the laws to ensure consistency in the business legal system, which will directly affect the investment projects of enterprises.

Amending the Land Law contributes to unlocking resources to promote industrial development in provinces.

Investor: Resolution No. 11-NQ/TW dated February 10, 2022 of the Politburo on the direction of socio-economic development and ensuring national defense and security in the Northern midland and mountainous region to 2030, with a vision to 2045, sets the goal: Thai Nguyen, Bac Giang, Lao Cai, Son La, Lang Son are growth poles, regional economic centers. So, in your opinion, what short-term and long-term goals should localities set to become growth poles as set out in the Resolution?

Dr. Tran Cong Phan: Normally, when deciding to invest in a country or locality, investors pay much attention to synchronous infrastructure (industrial parks and accompanying services, electricity, water, transportation, information, logistics, etc.); human resources, especially high-quality human resources, skilled workers; developed domestic supporting and auxiliary industries; and whether the security and order situation of that country or locality is stable or not?

As Thai Nguyen is one of the provinces and cities in the Capital Region, it has a special geo-economic position. It has the advantage of convenient transportation connecting with neighboring localities such as Hanoi, Lang Son, Bac Giang, Tuyen Quang, Phu Tho... Therefore, the province has the potential to create strong investment attraction.

Along with that, favorable natural conditions, few natural disasters, and abundant resources help Thai Nguyen develop a multi-sector, multi-field economy...

And to become a growth pole as proposed in the Resolution, in my opinion, Thai Nguyen in particular and provinces such as Bac Giang, Lao Cai, Son La, Lang Son... in general need to closely follow the policies and goals of the Resolution.

Investor: Thai Nguyen is one of 10 localities in the Capital Region. What are your expectations for Thai Nguyen to contribute to the goal of developing the Capital Region to regional standards?

Dr. Tran Cong Phan: The Government has issued Decision No. 222 dated March 14, 2023 approving the Planning of Thai Nguyen province for the period 2021 - 2030, with a vision to 2050.

From the perspective of a National Assembly member, I see that the investment environment and policies of Vietnam in general and Thai Nguyen province in particular are creating attractiveness for foreign investors. Therefore, many FDI projects have increased capital, expanded production scale, and many investors are looking for investment opportunities in Vietnam, especially in Thai Nguyen.

With these advantages and potentials, I expect Thai Nguyen to develop more and more strongly, attracting a large number of investors to participate; at the same time, paying attention to developing local human resources, attracting high-quality human resources... and achieving the goals as set out in the Thai Nguyen Provincial Planning.

Investor: Thank you sir .  

Source: https://www.nguoiduatin.vn/sua-luat-dat-dai-thuc-day-cac-tinh-cong-nghiep-phat-trien-a608039.html