Make the market more transparent

Speaking at the conference, Ms. Nguyen Thi Kim Thuy, Vice President of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of Ho Chi Minh City, said that in early 2020, the City People's Committee issued Decision No. 02 regulating the Land Price List in the city. Over the implementation period, many shortcomings and limitations have arisen that are no longer in accordance with the provisions of the law.

According to Ms. Thuy, the reality in the city is that the Land Price List has not approached the market land price, the scope of application is narrow, only used for 8 cases to carry out administrative procedures on land, the land price list construction cycle lasts 5 years, it is difficult to update market fluctuations, there is a lack of resettlement land prices to promptly disburse public investment capital for key projects and works in the area...

The Vice Chairman of the City Fatherland Front Committee hopes that the newly applied Land Price List will contribute to promoting compensation and site clearance for many projects in the city such as Ring Road 3, Xuyen Tam Canal, Doi Canal... "The new price approaching the market is likely to receive consensus from the people because the support and compensation levels will all increase. Key projects and works invested with budget capital will be on schedule and not be stuck", Ms. Thuy emphasized.

In addition, the application of the new Land Price List will contribute to stabilizing and promoting the socio-economic development of the city and ensuring an increasingly transparent market. Overcoming the shortcomings of the current Land Price List and ensuring fairness in implementing financial obligations regarding land for the people.

Lawyer Truong Thi Hoa raised the issue that land price increases have been clearly regulated, and that an increase is necessary, but how should they be increased appropriately? To ensure legality, Lawyer Hoa suggested that it must be approved by the City People's Council; when increasing, there must also be a roadmap and extensive investigation to listen to the opinions of the people and businesses about how they will be affected.

Must harmonize the interests of the state and the people

Lawyer Nguyen Van Hau, Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Bar Association, hopes that the adjusted land price list must harmonize the interests of the state, land users and investors.

Lawyer Hau suggested that it is necessary to consider the time of issuing the decision to replace Decision 02/2020. According to Mr. Hau, from the perspective of people and businesses, the content is not suitable for reality and creates financial pressure, especially in suburban districts that need to change the purpose of land use from agricultural land to residential land to divide among children, settle down... Mr. Hau said that in many families with many generations such as in Binh Chanh, Cu Chi, there is still not enough money to separate plots, change the purpose of land use to divide among children. If according to the draft, in many places, land prices increase dozens of times, it will cause difficulties for people.

In addition, increasing land prices will increase investment costs, which will reduce the motivation of businesses to invest in projects and discourage investors; increasing land prices will lead to high compensation costs, causing public and private investment projects and input costs to increase, creating pressure to increase land prices.

"Then there is the increase in commodity prices, which has an adverse impact on social housing projects when businesses receive land transfers for projects. Therefore, more time is needed to adjust and assess the overall impact when implementing the new land price list," said lawyer Hau.

Mr. Tran Dinh Tru, Deputy Chief Inspector of Ho Chi Minh City, said that in the current situation, land prices should not be increased because it is not necessary as prescribed by law. For now, the current land price list should be applied until December 31, 2025. During this process, a thorough survey is needed to have an accurate land price list.

Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Natural Resources and Environment Nguyen Toan Thang said that the new draft land price list has been closely conducted and surveyed. When issued, there will be many positive points and some negative contents. However, after this conference, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment will synthesize all comments to work with related departments and agencies to advise the city leaders to consider and decide soon.

At the conference, representatives of districts gave important comments.

Specifically, the People's Committee of District 10 requested the Department of Natural Resources and Environment to coordinate with the People's Committees of districts, towns, and Thu Duc City to advise the City People's Committee to adjust the Land Price List according to regulations for each district with land resettlement to suit the actual situation of each locality.

Meanwhile, the People's Committee of Binh Chanh District recommends that residential land should be comprehensively assessed for factors affecting the construction of the Land Price List, from which the city will issue an appropriate land price list. Regarding agricultural land, Binh Chanh District does not classify land by administrative unit but determines land prices according to location and route listed in the Land Price List.