Vietnam's government proposed new measures on Wednesday to speed up housing and infrastructure building by allowing land to be acquired and construction to begin before affected residents have received compensation, a move designed to meet the country's ambitious economic growth targets.
The proposal came in response to delays to several high-profile projects because of disputes over compensation and resettlement between residents and developers. The projects included a Trump family-backed golf club in northern Vietnam and a plan to rejuvenate Hanoi's Red River corridor that could affect up to 200,000 people.
Under the proposed amendments, which lawmakers are debating this week and could be approved as early as October, authorities would no longer be bound by a requirement that land can only be acquired and used after compensation plans have been approved and resettlement arrangements completed.
The overhaul is designed to remove institutional bottlenecks and unlock land resources "to serve socio-economic development and the goal of double-digit growth in the new period," a government website said, citing agriculture and environment minister Trinh Viet Hung.
Communist-ruled Vietnam wants to achieve annual economic growth of at least 10% through 2030, as it seeks to accelerate development before demographic trends begin to weigh on its growth potential.
The government has also proposed shifting the focus of its compensation policy toward "rebuilding people's lives" after their land has been taken. Under the draft, people whose residential property has been acquired would be put on the priority list for new land in the same location.
Land disputes have long been a sensitive issue in Vietnam, where negotiations over compensation often drag on for years and occasionally trigger rare protests in the tightly controlled country.
The amendments would also introduce clearer criteria for land acquisitions and reform the way land is valued using more transparent, data-driven pricing methods.
