Public opposes SEZ land-lease proposal

Wednesday 6th of June 2018

Vietnam’s proposal for three special economic zones (SEZs) continues to spark debate in the ongoing National Assembly (NA) sitting, with the proposal for investors to lease land for up to 99 years facing fierce public opposition.

Deputy Truong Trong Nghia from HCMC was among one of the NA deputies in objection to the proposal, saying that only underdeveloped and indigent countries should lease the land for such a long time.

Nghia said that few investors with genuine businesses will need to lease the land for that amount of time, so the 99-year incentive will only attract real estate and casino investors, rather than high-tech enterprises.

On the sidelines of the NA meeting, Deputy Tran Hoang Ngan from HCMC proposed offering a land lease period of 70 years with an extension of 20-30 years if the projects prove effective and the environment is taken care of.

According to the draft law, the land will be handed over to investors of special projects, however, there is no regulation to determine which project is a special project or not, Ngan said.

Vietnam is planning to establish three SEZs, which are Van Don in northern Quang Ninh Province, Bac Van Phong in central Khanh Hoa Province, and Phu Quoc in the southern Kien Giang Province.

Two major IR projects are planned for two of the zones, Van Don and Phu Quoc. They were also the two sites chosen to hold a three-year trial period for allowing local Vietnamese to gamble.