Land-use planning adjustment to satisfy provincial development needs

As recently asserted by leadership of Department of Natural Resources and Environment (DONRE), the land-use planning adjustment must be integrated into climate change and rising sea water level to suit the climate change responding scheme of the province while assuring the systematic, generalized, and multi-sectional approaches on land-use allocation planning.

According to the DONRE leadership, land-use planning adjustment measures until 2020 have been constructed on:

-         Socio-economic development orientation of Binh Duong Province until 2020.

-         General urban construction planning, traffic planning, and planning for development of fields and sectors.

-         Land-use demands of departments and localities.

-         Land fund potentials.

-         Land-use criteria which are balanced and determined until 2020.

Accordingly, total land area for residence by 2020 will be increased to 17,920 ha in accordance with the general urban construction planning of Binh Duong Province by investment decision of provincial People’s Committee in combination with development targets and approvals. Accordingly, urban land for residence will be 12,597 ha, increasing by 5,854 ha and rural land 5,323 ha, increasing by 2,572 ha.

Concurrently, land-use measures until 2020 have satisfied the land-use demands in specific departments, fields, and regions, particularly those of dynamic industry, services, and high development rate with economic structure transition integrated to urban development by functional sections such as the central and the Southern and satellite urban areas of the province. Accordingly, infrastructure construction land increases by 6,407ha, accounting for 22% of additional non-agriculture land, of which, 3,324ha for traffic constructions and 1,355ha for educational institution constructions with priority for colleges and universities in urban areas. Along with such development is the North-South traffic routes connecting Binh Phuoc and the highland, the East-West routes connecting Dong Nai, Vung Tau, Tay Ninh, and Cambodia. The land areas for industry have increased by over 6,345ha for establishment of high-tech industrial parks, facilitating investment luffing and socio-economic development of the province. Moreover, the land-use effectiveness will be improved, especially the transformation of ineffective agriculture land to land for development of urban areas, services, colleges and universities, industrial parks and clusters to promote economic growth; budget collection for land allocation and transferring of land-use purposes and rights and taxes against non-agriculture land and taxes related to real estate market in the province.

Agriculture land areas have been reduced by 25,000 ha to become non-agriculture land areas. Thus, Binh Duong Province will strongly promote agriculture and rural development in industrialization and modernization trend with in-depth investments into agriculture development or high-tech agriculture zones to improve quality and agriculture production value per area units; to fulfill the program of new rural area construction sooner than the nation roadmap. Besides, Binh Duong Province is taking care for job creation and production land for families affected by the reduction of agriculture land areas and site clearance for infrastructure construction. The land areas for educational institutions have been added by 1,355ha, facilitating the opening of vocational and professional institution constructions to elevate trained labor forces to 80% higher in 2020 and offer 40,000 jobs a year.

Regarding the land planning for rice plating, the land-use planning is approved by Resolution No. 78/NQ-CP of the government for 3,000ha of aqua-cultivated rice. However, it is infeasible by the government implementation to call upon farmers to maintain rice cultivation as the transforming of 1,465ha of one-crop rice into aqua-cultivated rice has been challenging. For the mentioned causes, the adjustment of land areas for rice cultivation until 2020 in the province is only limited to areas of effective rice cultivation and those areas of irrigation to support totally 2,500ha of rice cultivation, of which only 939ha are for aqua-cultivated rice.

The government approved Resolution No. 78/NQ-CP to plan up industrial land-use until 2020, stating the area of 13,919ha for 36 industrial parks; however, local Department of Planning and Investment and Industrial Parks Authority informed that the areas in reality are 13,521ha for 28 current industrial parks, excluding 4 industrial parks of Vinh Hiep, Thuong Tan, Long Hoa, and Minh Thanh while including 2 industrial parks of Riverside ISC and Tan Lap II, making the estimated areas for 34 industrial parks by 2020 would be 15,556ha. Under implementation plan until 2015, industrial park areas are 9,408ha, increasing by 650ha from 2010. However, by July 2015, statistical data showed that only 65% of such areas have been covered while the demands for 2020 would be 15,556ha which is 2,034ha more than the approved areas by Resolution No. 78/NQ-CP, caused by the excluding of 4 industrial parks, expansion of 7 industrial parks, and new constructions of 2 industrial parks.

As for urban land, the Resolution No. 78/NQ-CP approved 6,605ha to be used for urban areas in Binh Duong Province until 2020. However, Report No. 51/BC-UBND of provincial People’s Committee proposed for 10,143ha. Under housing development program in Binh Duong Province until 2020 and orientation to the years to 2030, the average housing area per capita is 25m2, by which, 2.5 million of people would be residing in urban areas by 2020, making it reasonable to state the 12,597ha of land as mentioned above.

Reported by P.V – Translated by Vi Bao