An evaluation of public land use in HCM City has revealed that more than 60 per cent of property allocated to State corporations is being improperly used, according to the city’s Department of Natural Resources and Environment.

A comprehensive investigation by the National Assembly’s Economic Committee and the department was conducted to evaluate the illegal use of public land and houses in order to report findings to the upcoming NA session.

The investigation found that more than 3.8 out of 6.3 million square metres of public land lots and houses allocated for use by State corporations and companies in HCM City were illegally rented out to other businesses for uses such as stores or restaurants.

For example, the Viet Nam Seafood Corporation put up more than 9,530sq.m for rent to other parties, the Sai Gon Trading Corporation has rented out 4,300 sq.m of space and the Southern Poultry Corporation put up 2,528sq.m of its allotted area for rent.

Ha Van Hien, head of the committee, said that land lots represented one of the biggest assets held by the corporations and that strict supervision and management were needed for more effective use.

Contributing factors

Dao Anh Kiet, director of the municipal department, said that on average, State corporations paid 2 per cent of market value per month for their public land allotments, bringing them significant benefits when they rented the properties out.

Management of public land held by State companies that had become a joint-stock company was even more difficult because their new rights allowed them to register their trading and services in multiple sectors. Their land would not be reclaimed, said Dao Thi Huong Lan, director of the city’s Finance Department.

“To solve this problem, the State corporations active in trading, services or real estate should pay 50-75 per cent of market prices,” said Kiet.

“If the State wants to support or create favourable conditions for these corporations, policies should be used to facilitate them,” said Dinh Quang An, head of the Central Management Institute.

Ngo Minh Hong, director of the city’s Justice Department, said that oversight by relevant authorities was necessary to transparently re-allocate land to other uses or purposes when it was reclaimed because of improper use.

“The Ministry of Finance will publish specific supervision and reclaiming procedures for the public land lots in question,” said Lan.

In the last three years, the Government published six decrees and decisions which requested relevant agencies and local authorities to monitor the illegal use of public land and houses, said Pham Khoi Nguyen, Minister of Natural Resources and Environment. (MONRE)