Creating a transparent investment environment.

Although various levels and sectors in the province have made efforts to improve the business environment and support businesses and investors, the reality shows that many businesses are still hesitant due to institutional constraints and bottlenecks, especially in project investment procedures.

In reality, the biggest challenge in attracting investment in recent times stems from the lack of consistency among regulations. For example, the Investment Law, although enacted with the goal of creating a legal framework to encourage investment, interferes deeply with areas that already have their own specialized laws. This overlap leads to common legal conflicts, causing difficulties for both investors and regulatory agencies.

A typical example is the process of implementing an industrial park construction investment project. According to the Investment Law, the project needs the approval of the provincial People's Committee for the investment policy. However, the Construction Law requires licensing based on the approved planning and design; while the Environmental Protection Law requires information from the detailed planning to prepare an environmental impact assessment report – things that are impossible without the approval of the investment policy. This vicious cycle causes the process to drag on for many years, easily giving rise to a "request-and-grant" mechanism to shorten the time.

Citizens and businesses come to the Provincial Public Administrative Service Center to handle administrative procedures.

According to a construction contractor in the province, the most common obstacles currently facing investment projects are administrative procedures and land clearance. The theoretical time for processing administrative procedures for land-use projects is 310 days, but in reality, some projects have taken up to ten years just for land clearance. Furthermore, real estate laws are complex and inconsistent, involving approximately 15 related laws. Investment incentive mechanisms are also not designed to be automatic and transparent, but largely depend on the approval of competent authorities. In a modern market economy , businesses should comply with the law and compete fairly, not "beg" for investment.

According to the Department of Finance, in recent times, the handling of investment procedures in the province has also faced difficulties. Some departments and agencies, when participating in the appraisal of investment policies, did not ensure the required content, only providing information without evaluation or commentary, causing difficulties in compiling reports and failing to comply with the provisions of the Investment Law. Furthermore, there is an overlap of regulations with industrial cluster infrastructure projects. For example, Decree No. 32/2024/ND-CP on the management of industrial clusters does not require an investment policy when establishing them, but the 2020 Investment Law and Decree No. 31/2021/ND-CP require it if land is allocated or leased. This has created legal obstacles in the implementation of industrial cluster infrastructure projects. For example, regarding the selection of land acquisition methods for public projects, Decree No. 151/2025/ND-CP (effective from July 1, 2025) delegates to provincial People's Committees the authority to decide on land allocation and leasing without auction or bidding for public projects. However, the distinction between projects that require bidding (without investment approval) and those that do not (requiring investment approval) remains unclear.

Attracting investment is not just about "bringing investors to the province to sign agreements and then... that's it," but also about treating investors as strategic customers who need care and support to overcome difficulties. Treat businesses and investors like customers and solve their problems."

Tran Thieu Nha, Standing Vice Chairman of the Dak Lak Provincial Young Entrepreneurs Association

Furthermore, Decision No. 43/2022/QD-UBND of the People's Committee of Dak Lak province on the procedures and responsibilities for coordinating the resolution of investment procedures and land-use project management is no longer appropriate due to many new legal documents and the reorganization of administrative units.

Recognizing these bottlenecks, on March 26, 2025, the Government issued Resolution No. 66/NQ-CP with the goal of abolishing at least 30% of unnecessary business conditions; reducing the time for processing administrative procedures by at least 30%; and cutting the compliance costs for businesses by 30%. Many experts have also suggested that if the Investment Law were abolished, the estimated effect could be a 15-20% reduction in project implementation time (thanks to the elimination of investment policy procedures), a 5-7% reduction in sub-license procedures, and a 5-10% reduction in the administrative burden for foreign investors. In total, this could help achieve 20-25% of the administrative procedure reduction target set in Resolution No. 66. Economic experts also argue that, in a modern rule-of-law system, investment does not need to be "permitted" by a separate law, but rather by a clear, transparent, and unified legal system.

A business is operating in Tan Lap ward.

Demonstrating efforts to reduce administrative procedures and improve the investment environment, the Government recently established a Steering Committee to review and address obstacles in the system of legal documents. The Ministry of Finance is also advising on amendments to the Land Law, the Housing Law, the Real Estate Business Law, and proposing the development of a draft law amending four other laws (Planning, Investment, PPP, and Bidding) to decentralize authority and create more favorable conditions for localities and key projects.

To address the obstacles in investment procedures in Dak Lak province, Deputy Director of the Department of Finance Huynh Gia Hoang stated that the Department is implementing various solutions, including strengthening the handling of investment procedures in accordance with regulations, closely monitoring the progress of projects, especially key projects, and promptly resolving difficulties to ensure projects become operational as soon as possible. The Department is also advising the Provincial People's Committee to issue new regulations on the procedures and responsibilities for coordinating the resolution of investment procedures and managing investment projects using land, replacing the outdated Decision No. 43/2022/QD-UBND. Simultaneously, it is coordinating the drafting of new regulations suitable to the two-tiered local government model and the province's practical situation. The Department is also advising the Provincial People's Committee on the procedures for adjusting the Provincial Planning and the Plan for implementing the Provincial Planning (after receiving guidance from the Central Government), as a basis for resolving difficulties for renewable energy projects – a potential and strong sector of the province.

These efforts demonstrate the strong determination of the Government and the province in administrative reform, creating a transparent, competitive, and trustworthy investment environment. This is an important prerequisite for the province to make breakthroughs, maximize its potential, and contribute to realizing the country's overall development aspirations.

Source: https://baodaklak.vn/kinh-te/202508/kien-tao-moi-truong-dau-tu-minh-bach-40510d1/