The project is stalled
The Nam Nguyen Dinh Chieu Resettlement and Residential Area Project (old Lang Son City) has a scale of more than 20.7 hectares, implemented in the form of public-private partnership (PPP), construction - transfer (BT) contract type, with a total investment of more than 330 billion VND.
However, after nearly 20 years since its launch, the project has not yet taken shape, leaving many consequences for urban management and people's lives.
According to the reporter's research, the project is divided into two parts: the area east of Ba Trieu Street (9.46 ha) is the part implementing BT infrastructure, and the area west of Ba Trieu Street (10.29 ha) is the land fund counterpart payment to the investor.
Since 2004, the project has been implemented under the name "Southern Urban Area of Nguyen Dinh Chieu Street" invested by Ha Do Company (Ministry of National Defense). However, due to problems in compensation, over 80% of households did not agree to measure and count, and the project has been stalled for many years.
In 2017, the People's Committee of Lang Son province re-approved the project under the PPP form, selecting a joint venture of Thanh Son Construction Joint Stock Company and Long Thinh Trading Joint Stock Company as the investor. The implementation progress was set for 2017-2020, then postponed to 2024 and recently extended to the end of 2026.
According to the report of Lang Son Provincial People's Committee, the project's prolonged delay is mainly due to many inadequacies in land legal procedures.
In 2017, the People's Committee of Lang Son City issued a notice to reclaim all 16.63 hectares of land to implement the project. However, at that time, the project had not been approved by the Provincial People's Council in the list of projects requiring land acquisition in 2017 and was not in accordance with the city's land use plan.
Up to now, the planning procedures and land use plans have been basically completed, and the project has been included in the land acquisition list by the Provincial People's Council. However, the compensation and support process still faces many difficulties due to policy differences over time.
The difference between more than 51 billion VND and 70 resettlement quotas
One of the current hot spots is the huge difference in compensation and support funding between the 2013 Land Law (and old documents) and the 2024 Land Law.
According to calculations, if the old regulations are applied, the total cost of compensation, support, and resettlement is about 99.9 billion VND with 85 resettlement quotas. However, if implemented under the new law, this figure will decrease to 73.2 billion VND and there will only be 15 resettlement quotas, which is a difference of 51.9 billion VND and 70 quotas.
The actual records of Lao Dong reporters in early August show that the project land is still just a deserted lot, with grass growing as high as people. Some people take advantage of vacant land to grow vegetables. There are no signs of machinery or construction activities.
A resident in Thac Ma area (opposite Nam Nguyen Dinh Chieu residential area) shared: "This project has been suspended for a long time. Recently, I have seen them dump some soil and leave it there, and I don't see any more work."
Previously, many households such as Mr. Hai A Phuoc, Hai A Thieu, Hai A Thuong (residing in block 3, Dong Kinh ward) reported that their families had handed over the site since 2020 for the extended Nam Nguyen Dinh Chieu road project, but have not yet received full compensation and support funds.
Speaking with reporters, Mr. Luong Trong Quynh - Vice Chairman of Lang Son Provincial People's Committee - said: "Previously, Lang Son City People's Committee was the competent authority for the project. However, after implementing the two-level government, the project was transferred to the Provincial Construction Investment Project Management Board for management".
Confirming further, Mr. Bui Quoc Khanh - Director of the Provincial Construction Investment Project Management Board - said: "Currently, the project is being further implemented by the Project Management Board of Area I (old Lang Son City).
