Hundreds of hectares of abandoned land
According to Lao Dong reporters, currently in Ninh Binh province, there are many projects that have been allocated land but the investors are slow to implement and leave them abandoned. Hundreds of hectares of people's cultivated land have been reclaimed and converted to use for businesses to do projects but for many years have not been implemented, leaving them abandoned, causing waste.
In 2010, the Ninh Binh Provincial People's Committee allocated more than 60 hectares of land (in Met village, Ky Phu commune, Nho Quan district) to the Northern Livestock Joint Stock Company to carry out the project of investing in the construction of an international pig breeding center with a production scale of tens of thousands of breeding pigs per year. However, 15 years have passed, and this project is still inactive, with dozens of hectares of land left fallow, causing waste.
Mr. Bui Van Thuy - Chairman of the People's Committee of Ky Phu commune said that this is a project of the province and was allocated land since 2010. "More than 60 hectares of land allocated is mainly cultivated land of households, of which agricultural land accounts for about 60% and a part of the area is protective forest land", Mr. Thuy said.
Mr. Thuy admitted that at meetings with voters, people have repeatedly petitioned authorities at all levels from district to provincial to take early action to avoid waste. However, so far, no solution has been found. "Voters hope that if the investor does not implement the project, the land area above should be reclaimed and handed over to people for cultivation to avoid waste," said Mr. Thuy.
Similarly, in 2007, the Ninh Binh Provincial People's Committee issued decisions to allocate more than 40 hectares of agricultural land in Phu Son Commune, Nho Quan District, Ninh Binh to Phu Son Cement Joint Stock Company to implement the Phu Son Cement Plant Project with a capacity of 11 million tons/year. However, after being allocated the land and granted an investment certificate, the Company only leveled the ground, built a number of items and then abandoned it from 2012 to present.
Waste of land resources
The situation of projects being allocated land but being slow to implement or being unfinished and then abandoned not only affects the economic and social development of the locality but also wastes land resources.
Project abandonment and slow progress not only occur in remote districts but also in the center of Ninh Binh city, hundreds of hectares of people's cultivated land were also recovered and converted to use for projects of dividing plots and selling land... to build urban areas, however, after recovering and handing over the land, the investor abandoned it.
A typical example is the land area of more than 20 hectares located in the center of Ninh Binh city (in Dong Thanh ward). In 2008, the People's Committee of Ninh Binh city decided to reclaim agricultural land cultivated by people to build an urban area. The total area recovered and compensated was up to 28 hectares. This land area was then invested in building infrastructure, roads, sidewalks, drainage... to organize auctions, bringing revenue to the State budget. However, 15 years have passed, after many unsuccessful auctions, this "golden" land is still abandoned.
According to the representative of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Ninh Binh province, implementing the direction of the Ninh Binh Provincial People's Committee on inspecting, reviewing and reclaiming land and revoking investment certificates for projects with slow progress and ineffective land use. Recently, the Department has chaired and coordinated with the Department of Planning and Investment, the Provincial Inspectorate and the People's Committees of districts and cities to review projects and works using land that violate land laws in Ninh Binh province.
Through inspection and examination, it is shown that currently in Ninh Binh province, there are still a number of projects and works that are behind schedule, using land inefficiently and violating land laws. The reasons leading to the violations are due to difficulties and obstacles in site clearance, investment capital, and environmental issues, so the projects and works have not been implemented on schedule.
In addition, the economic downturn and the epidemic situation have affected production and business activities, leading to difficulties in capital sources for investors, lack of enthusiasm for investment, and the mentality of holding land and waiting for opportunities is still common. On the other hand, when constructing a project, investors have not fully planned the development potential of the project as well as the investment in land to serve production and business, thus affecting the progress of land use.
Regarding the handling of investment projects using non-state budget capital with completion date in 2024 and some projects that were behind schedule in previous years that have had conclusions and directions but have not been completely handled (including projects approved for investment by district level).
"On August 23, 2024, the Ninh Binh Provincial People's Committee established an interdisciplinary inspection team to inspect the above projects. The inspection content focuses on legal procedures; project implementation according to investment policies; investment certificates; investment registration certificates, construction permits... and at the same time evaluates the effectiveness of each project. Currently, the inspection team has completed the field inspection and is synthesizing data to report to the Provincial People's Committee on the handling plan" - said a representative of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Ninh Binh province.
