Land ownership for 99 years in SEZs draft law provoked controversies

Land ownership for 99 years in SEZs may be detrimental to the State

The draft Law on Special Administrative-Economic Units stipulates a number of preferential policies related to land and land-attached assets, especially land ownership for 99 years in SEZs.

Nguyen Khac Dinh, Chairman of the National Assembly's Law Commission said that there are two kinds of views on the issue.

Specifically, many opinions in Law Drafting Commission agreed with the provision of the draft Law because it ensures the superiority compared with the current law and competitiveness to attract foreign investment in SEZs.

However, others thought that the management and use of land and land-attached assets are the issues not only related to the economy but also the national security and sovereignty. For some areas, these have a great impact on the lives of people due to land acquisition.

Meanwhile, the areas where SEZs are expected to be established have potential and advantages in terms of tourism and services, which are currently attractive to investors. At the same time, these areas are strategically important for national defense and security.

Moreover, the land ownership for 99 years is too long compared to the capital recovery period of production and business activities and may be detrimental to the State due to the world’s strong economic fluctuations. 

This may lead to unpredictable changes in the roles and positions of some priority sectors in the economy.

Therefore, the Law Drafting Commission recommended that the impact of this policy should be assessed on macroeconomic stability as well as on the lives of people; The land use duration should be regulated more suitable for each business line prioritized for development and appropriate to the actual use, in association with the existing land fund in each SEZ in order to attract investment and protect security, sovereignty, national and ethnic interests without wasting land resources.