Land resources - new advantage of Dong Nai

After the merger, the new Dong Nai Province not only has a large population size but also possesses vast land reserves in the Southeast region. These abundant, diverse, and contiguous land resources have become the province’s strategic advantage for expanding industrial zones, urban areas, developing transportation infrastructure, high-tech agriculture, and the forestry economy.

Dong Nai Province has the largest area in the Southeast region with more than 12.7 thousand km².  In the photo: Bridge 38 area, Nghia Trung commune, Dong Nai Province seen from above. Photo: Phu Quy

This is an important foundation for the province to attract investment, promote balanced development between industry, urbanization, and environmental protection.

Abundant and diverse land resources

After the merger, Dong Nai became the locality with the largest natural area in the Southeast region, with more than 12.7 thousand km². The expansion of administrative boundaries is creating - and will open up a space for seamless, diverse and outstanding socio-economic development. According to the former Dong Nai Provincial Planning, by 2030, the total natural land area of the province is more than 586 thousand hectares, including over 436 thousand hectares of agricultural land and nearly 150 thousand hectares of non-agricultural land. Meanwhile, the former Binh Phuoc Provincial Planning by 2030 determines the total natural area of about 687 thousand hectares, of which agricultural land accounts for about 595 thousand hectares and non-agricultural land about 92 thousand hectares.

At the meeting to review provincial land use targets to serve the adjustment of the national land use plan to 2030 held on July 29, Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee,  Vo Tan Duc, stated: The merger of the province has created more room in terms of land resources, increased potential for industrial development, infrastructure development, and at the same time opened up space for the urban - trade - service - logistics chain. The Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee agreed on the policy of adjusting the reduction of agricultural land as supplementation for non-agricultural land; in which Long Thanh International Airport is taken as the driving force for development

Industrial land is one of the bright spots in the land resource structure of the new Dong Nai Province with more than 36 thousand hectares. Many industrial zones and clusters have been and are being developed; the expanded industrial land fund not only helps the province attract foreign direct investment, but also serves as a basis for the development of supporting industries, high technology and green industry. The formation of large-scale industrial parks with synchronous infrastructure and convenient transportation, along with the policy of relocating long-standing industrial parks from urban areas to newly allocated land, will help reduce pressure on technical infrastructure, support urban development, and ensure social welfare.

Land for transportation, trade and services plays a strategic role in regional and intra-provincial connectivity. The province has a unique advantage in owning an airport, deep-water seaport and border gate, creating conditions for the development of multimodal transportation, especially airways, highways, railways, dry ports and logistics. This is the basis for the formation of large-scale commercial and service centers, serving the industrial and urban supply chain.

Forestry land is also a special advantage of Dong Nai Province compared to neighboring localities. The province currently has a world biosphere reserve, national park, nature reserve with all 3 types of forests, including special-use, protective and production forests. This presents great potential for developing the forest economy, eco-tourism, and carbon credit trading. At the same time, forests serve as the “green lungs” to help maintain ecological balance amid urbanization and industrialization.

Adjustments to meet new development requirements

Currently, for certain industries and sectors, the land-use plans of the former provinces remain appropriate and continue to be applied. However, in order to meet the requirements of sustainable, synchronized, and targeted development, the new Dong Nai Province needs to adjust its land-use targets accordingly.

The Bien Hoa - Vung Tau Expressway project in Dong Nai Province is under construction. Photo: Hoang Loc

Member of the Provincial Party Committee, Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment Nguyen Tuan Anh said: After reviewing the land use needs and planning of the two provinces before the merger, the department has proposed that the Provincial People's Committee recommend the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment to adjust the land use targets for some types of land to ensure effective resource exploitation, in line with the socio-economic development orientation of the new province.

Specifically, the proposed residential land target for the whole province is nearly 49 thousand hectares, an increase of more than 4 thousand hectares compared to the target of the two former provinces combined, to meet the needs of urban development, population dispersion and social housing construction. Industrial park land is more than 39 thousand hectares, an increase of nearly 3 thousand hectares to catch the wave of investment in high-tech industry, processing industry and logistics.

Commercial-service land is proposed at over 13 thousand hectares, up 4.5 thousand hectares, to support the development of commercial centers, logistics hubs, and urban services. Transportation land is proposed at 64 thousand hectares, an increase of nearly 6.3 thousand hectares, to meet the demand for a comprehensive transport network, especially expressways, ring roads, railways, and waterways.

Along with increasing the area of some types of land, Dong Nai Province proposed to sharply reduce the area of land for resource exploitation that could potentially affect the environment. Specifically, mineral exploitation land decreased by more than 78 thousand hectares, energy land decreased by 15 thousand hectares, and rice land decreased by more than 3.2 thousand hectares. Notably, in the agricultural land structure, the area of production forest land was adjusted to increase from more than 98 thousand hectares to more than 107 thousand hectares to match the goal of developing forest economy combined with ecotourism, sustainable forestry and environmental protection.

“The Provincial People’s Committee agrees with the proposal to reduce agricultural land-use targets, but the Department of Agriculture and Environment needs to pay attention to ensuring food security for rice-growing land. With forest land, the conversion of special-use forest land, protective forest land and other types of natural forests should be minimized, except in really necessary and urgent cases such as the Ma Da Bridge Project and connecting roads” - Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Vo Tan Duc emphasized.

By: Hoang Loc
Translated by: Thu Cuc - Thu Ha