To clear difficulties for FDI enterprises and accelerate the implementation of FDI projects, the Hanoi People's Committee held a conference on April 22 to discuss measures to alleviate this hindrance.
According to Deputy Director of Hanoi's Department of Planning and Investment Pham Van Khuong, all 37 FDI projects in the field of real estate, which use around 1,600 hectares of land, are encountering difficulties in land planning, clearance and handovers, resulting in slow progress.
A representative from Singapore's SIH company, the investor of the Metrolis Hanoi project in Nam Tu Liem district, said that the project is waiting for an investment certificate but there remains many time-consuming barriers, including land valuation procedures.
The representative from SIH suggested the city authorities allow them to pay a land rent in advance to carry out the project and latter recalculate the rent payment after the land valuation was completed.
Many other FDI projects such as Phuong Dong General Hospital, Yen So Park, and West Lake Urban Area are running into difficulties in land clearance and handover.
FDI enterprises recommended the city increase administrative reforms, and change the methods of collecting land taxes and the settlement of disputes with local people losing land. They also raised concerns over the poor infrastructure, sanitation and security of real estate projects.
Vice Chairman of the municipal People's Committee Nguyen Ngoc Tuan said at the meeting that dialogues with enterprises to resolve their difficulties should be held regularly as the removal of business's difficulties is also the removal of hindrance to the economic development of the city. He asked all relevant departments and sectors to give answers to enterprises' enquiries before May 30.
Hanoi granted licences to 80 FDI projects in the first quarter of 2015, including both newly-registered and expanded projects, with a total investment of US$160.2 million, two times higher than the same period in 2014. To date, Hanoi has attracted US$26.3 billion in FDI capital with 46.6% poured into real estate projects.
