Reclaiming public land to build hospitals, schools... is facing difficulties

Land for hospital construction: 10 agencies have proposed but not yet completed

Binh Thanh District Hospital at 132 Le Van Duyet Street has only 100 inpatient beds, while the need for treatment is increasing. This year's plan to increase to 300 inpatient beds has not been implemented due to lack of space. Right opposite is the land plot at 129 Le Van Duyet (Ward 3, Binh Thanh District), covering more than 7,200 ^{square meters} , which has been vacant for many years, and should be the solution to the hospital's lack of beds. However, things are... not simple. MSc. Nguyen Trung Kien, Deputy Director of Binh Thanh District Hospital, said that in 2021, the hospital proactively proposed to use the land plot opposite as a second facility. Up to now, after 4 years and many meetings, the application has not been approved.

The land plot 780A Nguyen Kiem (Go Vap district, Ho Chi Minh City) has been left vacant for many years and is proposed to be used as a school.

According to research, this land and housing area was the old facility of the Ho Chi Minh City Academy of Officials. After this unit moved to a new facility on Chu Van An Street (Binh Thanh District), the city assigned it to the Land Fund Development Center (Department of Agriculture and Environment) for management since 2016. Talking to SGGP reporters, a representative of the People's Committee of Binh Thanh District said that the land at 129 Le Van Duyet Street was previously assigned by the city to the Land Fund Development Center and transferred to the investor to pay for the BT contract (build - transfer), but in 2020, the city did not include this land in the housing and land fund for payment for the BT contract. Recently, on April 16, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Finance issued a document stating the opinions of 10 relevant agencies agreeing to submit to the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee a proposal to hand over the house and land at 129 Le Van Duyet Street to Binh Thanh District Hospital for management and use as a second facility. However, to function as a hospital, the land must go through many steps such as reviewing and adjusting the planning; terminating the lease contract, relocating assets and handing over the site to its original state.

Schools are also... waiting for land.

In Go Vap district - one of the districts with the highest population density in Ho Chi Minh City, the need to build more schools is always hot. Meanwhile, the land plot at 780A Nguyen Kiem (Ward 3, Go Vap district), covering more than 21,200 ^{square meters,} has been abandoned for many years. Grass grows wildly, the factory is abandoned, but the land has not been able to be converted to invest in schools and public works according to the plan.

This land was previously used by Sangor VN Co., Ltd. as a factory, until 2012, the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee reclaimed it. In 2019, the land plot at 780A Nguyen Kiem was temporarily managed by the Center for Housing Management and Construction Inspection (Department of Construction) pending instructions from the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee. Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Anh, Vice Chairman of the Go Vap District People's Committee, said that according to the 1/2000 planning project, the location of the land plot at 780A Nguyen Kiem is partly used for traffic purposes, the remaining part is planned for mixed use, green space - sports and education. The District People's Committee has proposed the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee to assign the land planned for schools, green parks - sports and roads for the district to invest in building schools and other items according to the planning, but it has not been approved.

Not only Go Vap district, in District 12 there is also a story that has lasted for more than 20 years: the project to build Nguyen Anh Thu Secondary School for more than 2 decades is still on paper, because... the land for building the school has not been recovered. The land planned to build the school has an area of ​​nearly 11,000m2 at 75/4 Phan Van Hon Street (Tan Thoi Nhat Ward, District 12) managed by the Ho Chi Minh City Ginseng and Medicinal Materials Center.

In 2002, the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee issued a decision to reclaim the land to build a school. On February 14, 2025, the Compensation and Site Clearance Board of District 12 coordinated with relevant units to inspect the current status of the land. However, the Ho Chi Minh City Ginseng and Medicinal Materials Center did not open its doors for the working group to perform its duties. Currently, relevant agencies and local authorities are taking steps to enforce the land reclamation. According to the Ho Chi Minh City Ginseng and Medicinal Materials Center, the above land was assigned by the Ministry of Health to the center to maintain and preserve over 300 medicinal plant gene sources in the Southern region. To date, the Ho Chi Minh City Ginseng and Medicinal Materials Center has not received any policy from the Ministry of Health and the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee regarding the relocation.

It can be seen that many management units, a series of procedures and a lack of determination in coordination have left many "golden lands" vacant. Should we continue to let these public lands lie idle for many more years, while "thirsty" for land to build schools and hospitals?

In March 2025, the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee issued a document directing relevant departments, branches and agencies to strengthen the management and handling of houses and land at state-owned enterprises. The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Agriculture and Environment reviewed and advised the city to reclaim land from state-owned enterprises that used land for purposes other than those for which the State allocated land, leased land, and recognized land use rights.

THANH HIEN

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/thu-hoi-dat-cong-xay-benh-vien-truong-hoc-gap-kho-post794815.html