Tran Bien Ward removes "bottleneck" in resettlement for key projects

Tran Bien is a central ward of Dong Nai province, so there are a series of key projects and works being implemented in the area.

Thong Nhat - Tan Mai resettlement area is invested and built to serve resettlement arrangement for key projects in Tran Bien ward.

To accelerate the progress of the projects, the locality is promoting solutions to remove the "bottleneck" in resettlement, and soon complete site clearance.

Resettlement obstacles "hold back" site clearance progress

Bien Hoa City central axis road; the road along the Cai River; as well as the Dong Nai River embankment and riverside road are key works and projects currently under construction in Tran Bien ward. Among these projects, only the Dong Nai River embankment and riverside road project has basically completed site clearance. Meanwhile, projects of the Bien Hoa City central axis road and the road along the Cai River remain hampered by prolonged site clearance obstacles that have yet to be fully resolved.

According to the Dong Nai Provincial Investment and Construction Project Management Board (the investor of the two projects), the land clearance difficulties in the past have greatly affected the construction progress of these projects.

Statistics from the Bien Hoa-based Dong Nai Provincial Land Fund Development Center show that the Bien Hoa City central axis road project still awaits site handover from 50 affected households whose land accounts for nearly 10% of the total area yet to be handed over for site clearance. For the Cai riverside road project, up to now, the investor has only started construction for the package to build 5 bridges on the route, while the roadwork package remains pending  because the handed-over site does not meet all the conditions required to begin construction.

Pham Duc Hoang, Vice Chairman of Tran Bien Ward People's Committee, said: Not only key works and projects, but many other projects in the ward are also facing difficulties in site clearance. The biggest "bottleneck" is the resettlement arrangement for households whose land has been acquired for project implementation.

According to Hoang, previously, when implementing projects, the resettlement plan was to arrange the affected households in resettlement areas in the old Bien Hoa city. However, since the implementation of the two-tier local government model, many of these  resettlement areas are no longer located in Tran Bien ward, but in other wards. Meanwhile, Tran Bien ward cannot approve the resettlement for households affected by projects in its area into resettlement sites located in other wards in order to approve the compensation and support plans. Therefore, the arrangement of resettlement faces difficulties, affecting the site clearance progress of local projects.

"For the project of the road along Cai river alone, there are over 400 households awaiting resettlement arrangement," said Pham Duc Hoang.

Proposing solutions to remove difficulties

Given the fact that the resettlement arrangement for households affected by projects in the area faces difficulies, Nguyen Duy Tan, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee and Chairman of Tran Bien Ward People's Committee, recently proposed solutions to the Provincial People's Committee.

According to Tran Bien Ward People's Committee, after implementing the two-tier local government model, there are currently only 3 resettlement areas in the ward that have been fully built to serve resettlement arrangements. They include Buu Long resettlement area; Quang Vinh resettlement area and Thong Nhat - Tan Mai resettlement area (partly located in Tam Hiep ward).

According to Tan, if Tran Bien ward wants to add a plan to arrange resettlement for affected households in the project areas in the ward into resettlement areas outside the ward, it must be approved by the Provincial People's Committee. Therefore, Tran Bien ward proposes a plan: The locality will synthesize the demand for resettlement arrangement, compile a list and submit it to the Provincial People's Committee so that the affected people can be relocated to resettlement areas in other wards.

"It is not feasible to follow the method where each case must be submitted to the Provincial People's Committee for approval before implementation. Therefore, the ward will review, synthesize, and compile a list to submit to the Provincial People's Committee for approval as part of the compensation and support plan," said Nguyen Duy Tan.

According to the People's Committee of Tran Bien Ward, there are currently 2 resettlement areas in Bien Hoa Ward, located near Tran Bien Ward, that are being considered and proposed for resettlement of residents, serving land clearance for projects in Tran Bien Ward.

In addition, according to Pham Duc Hoang, Tran Bien Ward is reviewing and proposing a plot of land in the ward to implement a plan to construct a high-rise social housing apartment building to meet resettlement needs when implementing projects in the ward.

By Pham Tung-Translated by Mai Nga, Thu Ha