Developing resettlement areas on an urban scale

Dong Nai Province is home to many key projects currently underway or about to be launched. Once completed and put into operation, these projects are expected to open significant new development opportunities for the province. However, this also brings enormous pressure in terms of resettlement for households whose land is being acquired.

Residents building houses in the Long Duc Resettlement Area, Binh An Commune. Photo: Hoang Loc

Developing large-scale resettlement areas helps ensure sufficient land funds to promptly allocate new housing for affected households, while contributing to the formation of modern, civilized urban regions.

Resettlement falls short of actual demand

For many years, the province and localities have followed the principle of “acquire land where necessary, provide resettlement there” to ensure legitimate rights and benefits for residents while enabling projects to proceed on schedule. However, in practice, land acquisition and resettlement have not always progressed in parallel.

For each project, once implementation is approved, authorities review resettlement needs and then work with localities to identify suitable land reserves for resettlement areas. This process has led to situations where “land is acquired first while resettlement trails behind.”

In some cases, residents have already handed over their land, but resettlement infrastructure is still nonexistent. In others, land has been allocated for resettlement, but the sites are too far from the original location, leading to reluctance among residents. In specific projects, even during implementation, people often remain uncertain about their resettlement plans.

According to the provincial People’s Committee, from now until 2030, Dong Nai plans to develop 89 resettlement projects with more than 47,000 plots of land. The total implementation cost exceeds 10 trillion VND.

Such issues prolong site clearance, delay key infrastructure projects, and fuel public frustration, complaints, and legal petitions.

Provincial People’s Committee Vice Chairman Ho Van Ha noted that land clearance has been a significant “bottleneck” slowing many projects. This challenge leads to further consequences, such as low public investment disbursement and failure to meet scheduled project completion timelines. One root cause, provincial leaders point out, is that localities have not been proactive in developing resettlement areas, causing difficulties when new housing must be arranged for affected residents.

Recognizing these shortcomings, the provincial People’s Committee instructed local governments to review and forecast demand so the province can develop an investment plan for resettlement areas from now until 2030. The core objective of the plan is to establish sufficient land reserves to meet the requirements of implementing the province’s socio-economic development projects; support site-clearance efforts for national and local key works and projects; ensure that the province and its communes and wards are no longer passive in mobilizing residents to hand over land, with timely resettlement arrangements that prevent prolonged temporary housing; build modern, civilized, and synchronized technical and social infrastructure systems for resettlement areas; and create a foundation for relevant agencies and units to be more proactive in planning, preparing land funds, and allocating capital for the construction of these resettlement areas.

Developing resettlement urban areas

Resettlement is a humanitarian policy of the Party and State, intended to support residents whose residential land is expropriated after receiving compensation. It must not only provide a place to live, but a new living environment that ensures stability and dignity for affected households.

A resettlement area in Phuoc An Commune. Photo: Hoang Loc

Nguyen Tuan Anh, a member of the Provincial Party Standing Committee and Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment, stated that although the 2024 Land Law and new implementing decrees and circulars have addressed many previous obstacles, compensation, support, and resettlement continue to progress slowly. This challenge not only affects public investment disbursement but also directly impacts the livelihoods and stability of households whose land is reclaimed, while reducing project efficiency and affecting investors’ capital use plans and timelines.

According to Nguyen Tuan Anh, addressing current limitations requires identifying and allocating land funds to develop comprehensive, modern resettlement areas with adequate infrastructure and essential public services so residents can quickly stabilize their lives. He also emphasized the need for flexible resettlement policies, allowing allocation in different locations and offering choices between residential land or ready-built housing based on residents’ needs.

During a working session with the Department of Agriculture and Environment on November 26, Deputy Provincial Party Secretary and Chairman of the Provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Van Ut emphasized the need to reform the resettlement approach toward a more fundamental and practical model. Instead of building scattered, project-specific resettlement sites, the province will develop large-scale resettlement areas, spanning dozens of hectares, essentially forming resettlement urban zones. These areas will be strategically planned in locations with convenient transportation infrastructure. They will be fully equipped with internal amenities, including schools at all levels, healthcare facilities, community centers, green spaces, road systems, parking lots, and other essential social infrastructure.

Chairman Nguyen Van Ut added that developing large-scale, fully equipped resettlement areas will significantly improve residents’ quality of life. These urban resettlement zones can serve multiple projects, eliminating the “build as you go” approach in which resettlement sites are created too late to meet demand. When land funds are prepared in advance, land clearance bottlenecks can be removed. Moreover, large resettlement urban areas reduce fragmented investment, support comprehensive community ecosystems, and ensure that households are relocated to living conditions equal to or better than their original homes.

From now until 2030, the province will implement numerous large-scale projects in transportation infrastructure, industrial zones, and urban development, many of which will require the acquisition of residential land. As such, advance preparation of resettlement areas has become a critical factor in ensuring effective site clearance.

In addition to allocating resources, the province is allowing localities to advance provincial funds for investment in resettlement infrastructure. This policy is designed to expedite compensation, land clearance, and project implementation. It is regarded as a key solution to fostering the development of modern, well-planned urban areas for resettlement.

By Hoang Loc – Translated by Quynh Nhu, Minho