Businesses cannot wait any longer. Part 2

It takes many synchronous solutions in many fields that the province has been implementing to achieve the above satisfactory results. But in the current situation, the specific land price decides that, especially in retaining the infrastructure investor and attracting secondary investors at the billion-dollar level.

No waiting for amendments to Decree 44 and Circular 36

If Tan Duc Industrial Park, people have handed over 206.5/300 hectares of land, is in the final stage to find specific compensation land prices, specific land prices for rent, then Son My 1 Industrial Park is also in a similar state, although the province has currently handed over 76.78 hectares out of a total of 375.57 hectares of land use plan and target until 2025. However, because there is no specific land price, the land rental price has not been calculated, so the investor of Son My 1 Industrial Park cannot make an impact, while the plan is to complete all infrastructure by 2025. This is a place that attracts foreign projects with very large scale up to billions of dollars such as Son My LNG Port Warehouse; Son My Power Center...

Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Doan Anh Dung spoke at the conference

Therefore, in the story of promoting the development of 3 economic pillars in 2024, in which with the industrial pillar, Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Doan Anh Dung requested that at all costs, the specific land prices of 2 industrial parks: Son My I and Tan Duc must be determined as early as 2024 to call for investment projects, especially key national projects and works in Ham Tan area. Because at the end of February 2024, the province will hold the Ceremony to announce the Planning of Binh Thuan province for the period 2021 - 2030, with a vision to 2050, and at the same time promote investment.

"Departments and branches urgently advise the Provincial People's Committee to establish and adjust plans in accordance with the Provincial Planning such as urban planning; rural planning; zoning plans of communes, wards and towns... Especially the 3 coastal zoning plans, departments and branches must speed up construction to attract strategic projects" - the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee emphasized. At the same time, they are also worried about the fact that Binh Thuan has been "waiting" for Decree 44 amendments and Circular 36 amendments for 3 years now and through a general review, there are up to 47 projects stuck with specific land prices in the style of "old work is left behind, new work is added". Among them, there are projects that have been waiting for 10 years such as NovaWorld Phan Thiet; through the press, through petitions, businesses hope to soon have specific land prices to carry out the next procedures, because every day, businesses have to pay bank interest up to 50 billion VND. Or other businesses are also covered by other costs while waiting for specific land prices...

A corner of NovaWorld Phan Thiet project

“The 2024 Land Law (amended), passed by the National Assembly at the end of January 2024, normally takes about a year to take effect. To amend Decree 44, then amend Circular 36, we have to wait for the 2024 Land Law to be promulgated. We have waited for 3 years, now another year, businesses cannot stand it anymore, cannot wait anymore, businesses will all leave. When carefully comparing the difficulties and obstacles in specific land valuation, we see that there are still many problems. For example, there are no projects to compare, if we do not make specific land prices for any projects, how can we have anything to compare... Therefore, we must find out why there are problems, where are the problems, what are the problems. Is it so difficult that we cannot do it or are afraid to do it?” - Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Doan Anh Dung pointed out.

Sense of responsibility

From there, the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee requested departments, branches and localities to consider removing difficulties and obstacles in the land sector as an urgent task, to focus on solving them on the principle that the difficulty belongs to the authority of which level; not to push, avoid, fear of mistakes, fear of responsibility. At the same time, take full advantage of the guidance of ministries and branches, especially the Prime Minister's task force to remove difficulties. Accordingly, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment, the Department of Finance, the People's Committees of districts, towns and cities urgently determine specific land prices to calculate land use fees for projects that have allocated land, leased land, creating conditions for projects to establish the next procedures. As recently, the specific land prices of 2 tourism projects have also gained experience and methods to continue solving other projects. Try to complete the specific land prices for the remaining projects by 2024.

This means that departments and localities should stick to Decree 44 and Circular 36 in determining specific land prices, without making businesses wait any longer. Especially in the past time, from classifying 47 projects, the leaders of the Provincial People's Committee held meetings in each thematic project group and issued notices of conclusions and directions after the meeting to remove difficulties and obstacles for each project and project group. Therefore, 2024 can be considered the time to clearly identify and remove obstacles in finding specific land prices for each project above.

It is worth noting that, at this point, when the 2024 Land Law was passed, many other problems of the "waiting" over the past 3 years were also revealed. Before that, the wait was with great expectation that after Decree 44 and Circular 36 were amended and supplemented, the land rental prices of land lease projects with annual payments in the province would be resolved. Based on the story in the drafts submitted for comments to the People's Committees of the provinces, relevant ministries, and Government members, for land prices of projects with annual land rental payments that the Provincial People's Committee has not yet issued specific land prices, the adjustment coefficient method will be applied. That is, the land price in the land price table is multiplied by the annual adjustment coefficient, then added to the average annual non-term interest rate of 4 state-owned banks. However, according to the latest draft, dated January 5, 2024, the above content has changed.

Tourism projects invested in coastal areas

“Specifically, the adjustment coefficient method is only applied to projects that were allocated land, leased land, or changed land use purposes before January 1, 2005. Projects after January 1, 2005 must make specific land prices according to the three methods of surplus, comparison, and income. If Decree 44 is amended according to this draft, it will be even more difficult to determine land prices of previous projects, because information collected to determine development costs, development revenue, and comparable assets to make valuation assets is very difficult, or even non-existent. At that time, the land price calculation method will use many assumed factors without verification and comparison information, the risk of error and risk of assessment in the process of land price determination will be very high” - That is the concern of the leaders of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment.

Finding specific land prices is inherently complicated. However, before the opportunity of 2024, the relevant agencies must make efforts to resolve the specific land price bottleneck to support businesses in early project implementation. Thereby, it also contributes to bringing the province closer to the results set out in the Resolution of the 14th Provincial Party Congress, term 2020 - 2025.

Lesson 1: "Removing" land prices cautiously

BICH NGHI - PHOTO BY N. LAN

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