Deputy Prime Minister: Resolve enterprises’ land problems to the end

On August 12, Deputy Prime Minister Ho Quoc Dung chaired a meeting on handling petitions and difficulties of businesses in the fields of land, environment, mineral exploitation and material sources.

He stated that the shortcomings and valid recommendations must be resolved completely. Unclear content needs specific guidance, with the goal of solving the problem for businesses.

Regarding the land sector, the Deputy Prime Minister requested to review and handle issues related to unit prices, land price lists, adjustment coefficients, land rent, tax enforcement and planning. Regarding the environment, management agencies need to focus on resolving community consultation, dredging procedures, maintaining seaport channels, scrap import deposits, circular economy, production and recycling.

According to the Deputy Prime Minister, in the coming time, laws related to agriculture and the environment will be amended, including the Land Law. Therefore, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment needs to receive comments on land to update in the process of amending laws or guiding decrees.

“Not just answering, we must find a solution so businesses can do it,” the Deputy Prime Minister said, and asked the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment to thoroughly handle the problems reported by businesses.

According to him, more than one million businesses are making important contributions to the budget and economic growth. If business operations are congested and resources are not cleared, it will directly affect growth goals. Therefore, solving problems for businesses is also a solution to promote economic development.

At the meeting, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Environment Vo Van Hung said that this agency reviewed 18 groups of issues and recommendations and responded, determining the competent unit to handle the business. However, according to leaders of the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, a number of inter-sectoral problems such as land finance, interest rate subsidies, scrap deposits or ash and slag standards need to be thoroughly resolved by inter-sectoral coordination.

Mentioning the problem, according to the Vietnam Confederation of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), is the “phase difference” in land valuation, businesses have paid land fees but have not yet been handed over the site… The remaining, some inadequacies due to lack of quantitative criteria, planning and waste management still favor elimination instead of circulation.

From a business perspective, General Secretary of the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers Nguyen Hoai Nam proposed extending the land use term for large-scale agricultural and fishery projects. According to Mr. Nam, many aquaculture areas only have a shelf life of 20 years, which is not commensurate with large investment capital and infrastructure.

Chairman of the Vietnam Young Entrepreneurs Association Dang Hong Anh wants a one-stop mechanism to connect investment, construction, and land procedures, instead of businesses having to work with many departments and branches. Environmental impact assessment records conducted before decentralization to localities, according to him, should also be inherited to avoid redoing.

In response to the petitions, Deputy Prime Minister Ho Quoc Dung requested relevant agencies to classify and specifically handle each petition in August. He reiterated the viewpoint of “not avoiding, not pushing”, clearly identifying responsibilities and focal points for handling.

Government leaders also noted that business procedures and conditions that have been reduced cannot be converted into other regulations in the form of standards, regulations or “sub-licenses”. This is to avoid the situation of “leaving this place but moving to another place”.