Bắc Ninh
Clearing land to attract investment
Updated: 10:10, 08/02/2017
(BGO) – Land clearance to create a clean land fund is considered the hardest stage in attracting investment. With concerted efforts made by authorities and agencies at all levels in the province last year, the work left a positive mark that has helped brighten the picture of investment attraction in Bac Giang.
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In 2016, many industrial projects began their construction at the Quang Chau industrial park (Viet Yen). |
Closer contact with local communities to gain public support
“To create a clean land fund for new projects is not easy at all. Officials from district to hamlet level must regularly visit every household to explain, persuade, and gain their understanding and agreement. When the residents give their consent, things will go smoothly,” said Nguyen Van Phuong, Vice Chairman of the Viet Yen district People’s Committee, when talking to us about land clearance for industrial parks in the district.
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In 2016, Bac Giang attracted 151 investment projects in total, of which the number of foreign-invested projects was ranked ninth and their combined registered capital ranked fifth among provinces and cities nationwide. |
The JA Solar Vietnam project, with investment exceeding 1 billion USD, will be implemented in three phases. The first phase was officially begun on November 27, 2016, on an area spanning 88 hectares.
Before the investor arrived, the land clearance work at the site faced many difficulties. More than 300 households in Trung Dong village (Van Trung Commune) had received compensation for their 70 hectares of agricultural land which were reclaimed by the State, but the local authorities could not provide land for service purpose for them as no land was available. In addition, nine other households in Nenh town did not agree with the terms of compensation for their agricultural land (0.8ha) reclaimed for the investment project.
To remove those difficulties, the constructor of infrastructure in the IP agreed with the provincial authorities to pay compensation based on new land prices. As such, the compensation value was higher but it was not easy to make local residents understand the change.
The Viet Yen district People’s Committee requested its specialized departments and leaders of communal and town authorities to organise meetings with residents, make public policies on land and plans on compensation, and give prompt reply to residents’ questions related to the matter.
Do Van Luan, Vice Chairman of the Viet Yen district People’s Committee, said: “We had to visit some households three or four times to persuade, and even asked their relatives to explain to them.”
By combining a range of different approaches, the district was able to solve land problems in Trung Dong village and Nenh town within two months between September and November last year, and handed over the land to the constructor.
In 2016, other provincial industrial parks also recorded sound performance in land clearance to attract investors.
At the Song Khe – Noi Hoang IP, more than 500 households in Song Khe 1 and Song Khe 2 villages, Song Khe commune, Bac Giang City, unanimously agreed to hand over nearly 20 hectares of land.
Dao Van Du, head of the commune People’s Committee, said: “At first, we were worried about whether the land clearance would go smoothly as it involved a large area of land and many households. During the process, land clearance working teams of the city closely coordinated with the commune to make public all related procedures and the compensation plans. The implementation of all procedures, from papers to land measurement was done in a transparent manner.”
Welcoming new projects
Being aware that good land clearance work and a clean land fund will help attract investment projects and drive socio-economic growth, the provincial authorities and agencies have paid special attention to the work. Bac Giang has designated six industrial parks, four of which – Dinh Tram, Quang Chau, Song Khe – Noi Hoang, and Van Trung – are already operational with a combined area of over 1,370 hectares. Of the area, around 793 hectares are arable land, mostly concentrated in Viet Yen district. In 2016, 250 hectares were cleared at the four parks, with infrastructure now being built to lure investment.
Ha Ngoc Hoa, deputy director general of the Bac Giang Import-Export Joint Stock Company, said investment projects’ economic efficiency is influenced by fluctuations in material and labour costs as well as market opportunities. As such, prolonged land clearance would hurt the investor, even lead to project’s bankruptcy due to missed opportunities. The failure will affect not only the enterprises but also local residents, as it takes away potential employment and business or services opportunities. Alongside land clearance, the provincial People’s Committee also instructed local agencies and authorities to pay attention to the building of infrastructure in IPs, such as roads, electricity, water supply and schools, as well as administrative procedure reform, security and social order, thus creating the best conditions for investors.
According to Nguyen Van Tuyen, deputy head of the provincial Department of Environment and Natural Resources, for better land clearance, the department will continue requesting infrastructure investors to focus their resources, particularly funding and equipment, on infrastructure construction in IPs in order to complete approved projects with a view to attracting manufacturing investors. The department will also coordinate with local authorities to conduct communication campaigns to raise public awareness on land-related State policies and laws. Meanwhile, examinations to check the capacity of potential investors ought to be carried out to ensure no waste of land at industrial parks.
Cong Doanh
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