Urban Development Law: Unlocking urban space efficiently and sustainably

The management, exploitation and use of underground, low-altitude and high-altitude spaces must ensure safety and comply with planning, national defense, and security requirements, while safeguarding the lawful rights and interests of organizations and individuals.

Under Article 11 of the Urban Development Law, these spaces must be planned and functionally zoned as the basis for management, investment in construction, exploitation, and use. The law also sets out mechanisms concerning use rights, financial obligations, compensation, support, and investment incentives.

Planning and functional zoning for effective management

A corner of Tran Bien Ward, Dong Nai City. Photo: Cong Nghia

Under the law, the management, development, exploitation, and use of underground, low-altitude, and high-altitude spaces must take into account natural, meteorological, geological, geomorphological, and hydrological conditions, while ensuring safety both during and after use.

These provisions place natural conditions and safety among the fundamental principles governing the development and use of such spaces. At the same time, their management, development, and use must be consistent with the city’s master plan.

Another important principle is national defense and security. Article 11 gives priority to dual-use facilities that can be readily converted to serve national defense and security needs. This requirement goes hand in hand with the preservation of cultural spaces, landscapes, the environment, historical and cultural relics, and scenic sites.

The development of new spaces must not be separated from requirements for national defense and security or the preservation of cultural, historical, environmental, and landscape values. Article 11 clearly stipulates that “underground, low-altitude and high-altitude spaces must be planned and functionally zoned for management, construction investment, exploitation and use.”

Planning and functional zoning provide a basis for managing these spaces under a unified development framework. They also ensure that construction investment, exploitation, and use are carried out in line with approved plans.

Alongside planning requirements, integrated connectivity among facilities is also identified as a key principle. This requirement goes hand in hand with those concerning natural conditions, compliance with the city’s master plan, national defense and security, and the preservation of cultural and landscape values.

A commercial urban development project in Long Thanh Ward, Dong Nai City. Photo: Hoang Loc

Article 11 also sets out an investment-oriented approach. Accordingly, the management, development, exploitation, and use of underground, low-altitude, and high-altitude spaces should be carried out in ways that encourage and facilitate investment in projects involving these spaces.

To give effect to these principles, Clause 3 of Article 11 assigns the City People’s Council the authority to regulate a range of important matters relating to planning, use rights, financial obligations, compensation, support, and investment policies.

First, this includes the formulation, appraisal, approval, and adjustment of plans for underground, low-altitude, and high-altitude spaces. Notably, such plans and adjustments may be approved only after the Ministry of National Defense and the Ministry of Public Security have given their agreement. Opinions must also be sought from the Ministry of Construction and the Ministry of Finance, while local communities and relevant agencies, organizations, and individuals must be consulted.

The provision clearly defines the roles of central-level agencies and other relevant stakeholders in the approval and adjustment of planning. The Ministry of National Defense and the Ministry of Public Security are required to give their agreement, while the Ministry of Construction and the Ministry of Finance are consulted. Local communities and other relevant agencies, organizations, and individuals are also invited to provide input.

Another matter assigned to the City People’s Council is the maximum depth below ground that land users may use in accordance with planning, without paying for the use of underground space. The regulation also provides a basis for determining cases in which underground space is used beyond that depth, including those subject to payment, exemption, or reduction of underground-space use fees.

Defining rights, obligations and investment incentives

Dong Nai has implemented several major transport infrastructure projects along the Dong Nai River in recent years. Photo: Kim Lieu

Underground, low-altitude, and high-altitude spaces have distinctive characteristics. Therefore, in addition to setting out planning requirements, Article 11 requires the lawful rights and interests of land users to be protected in cases where no planning has yet been established for these spaces.

Under Point d, Clause 3, the City People’s Council shall regulate the use of underground, low-altitude and high-altitude spaces where no relevant planning is in place, while ensuring the lawful rights and interests of land users.

This provision directly links space management with the lawful rights and interests of land users. The use of these spaces in the absence of planning must therefore be subject to requirements safeguarding such rights and interests.

Dong Nai’s high-rise urban space still has considerable potential for planned development and use. Photo: Pham Tung

Article 11 also assigns the City People’s Council the task of setting compensation and support policies for organizations and individuals whose lawful rights and interests are affected when underground, low-altitude and high-altitude spaces are exploited or used for public purposes. Where such exploitation or use affects the lawful rights and interests of organizations or individuals, the compensation and support policies will be determined by the City People’s Council.

Alongside mechanisms to protect legitimate interests, Article 11 contains a separate provision on investment promotion. The City People’s Council is authorized to formulate preferential policies, support measures, and incentives to encourage investment in underground facilities and the development and use of low-altitude and high-altitude spaces.

This provides a basis for the city to develop policies to encourage investment in underground facilities as well as the development and use of low-altitude and high-altitude spaces. However, the specific levels of incentives, forms of support, and other investment promotion mechanisms will be determined by the City People’s Council within its assigned authority.

In addition, the City People’s Council is also tasked with regulating revenues generated from the exploitation and use of underground, low-altitude and high-altitude spaces.

Effective and integrated management

Nguyen Ai Quoc Street in Dong Nai City. Photo: Huy Nguyen

In addition to management measures, the City People’s Committee is responsible for regulating infrastructure, technology, and vehicles operating in underground, low-altitude and high-altitude spaces.

This provision distinguishes between the respective roles of the city People’s Council and the City People’s Committee. While the former regulates policies and mechanisms, the latter is responsible for measures governing the management, exploitation, and use of these spaces, as well as infrastructure, technology, and vehicles operating within them.

Taken together, the provisions of Article 11 establish a comprehensive framework of principles for managing and exploiting underground, low-altitude and high-altitude spaces. The first requirement is that their development and use take into account natural, meteorological, geological, geomorphological, and hydrological conditions while ensuring safety throughout and after use.

These requirements are accompanied by the need to comply with the city’s master plan, ensure national defense and security, prioritize dual-use facilities, preserve cultural spaces, the environment and landscapes, historical and cultural relics, and scenic sites, and ensure integrated connectivity among facilities.

Article 11 requires that these spaces be planned and functionally zoned for management, investment in construction, exploitation, and use. At the same time, it encourages and facilitates investment in projects involving the development and use of these spaces.

Notably, matters directly related to rights to use underground space, financial obligations, compensation, support, and investment policies are assigned to the City People’s Council. Meanwhile, the City People’s Committee is responsible for measures governing the management, exploitation, and use of these spaces, as well as the infrastructure, technology, and vehicles operating within them.

Under this approach, Article 11 not only establishes a management framework for these distinctive spaces but also creates a basis for the city to mobilize resources through their development and use. Such development must be tied to planning and safety requirements, national defense and security, and the preservation of cultural and landscape values, while safeguarding the lawful rights and interests of land users and other organizations and individuals affected when the spaces are used for public purposes.

These principles and mechanisms provide an important basis for gradually establishing an integrated and planned approach to managing and using these spaces in line with the city’s development needs.

By H.Thanh – Translated by M.Nguyet, Minho