Ha Noi is to implement a new set of rules to govern the establishment and development of infrastructure and its support policies from September 26, according to a recently announced city mandate on land use.

The mandate covers most, if not all, industrial parks and residential projects located within the capital city's limit, which demands all projects must fall in line with the city's future planning and development goals. They must also comply to all existing land-use, security and environmental regulations.

According to the new mandate, the city's People Committee is to preside over all matters and ultimately decide on what projects are to get the go-ahead signal and who their investors will be.

Notably, the city is to set up bids for new projects with a total investment value of VND2.5 trillion and above or projects with sizes of 10ha within the metropolitan area and 25ha for the rest. District and commune-level people's committees are to be tasked with selecting the investors for projects located in their respective administrative areas.

Projects that require the approval of the National Assembly will also be put under the management and care of the city's People Committee and bids must be held to find suitable and capable investors under existing regulations.

The capital city's planning and investment department has been told to work closely with potential investors to identify, in a timely manner, socio-economic development issues and public concerns, as well as to propose solutions to address them.

There were more than 700 development projects within the city with a total land area of 5,000ha reserved that have been classified as moving with sluggish speed, according to a review conducted last month by the city's authority. Of which, many have received warnings but have not shown signs of improvement.

Chairman of the Ha Noi People's Committee Tran Sy Thanh said the city considers said projects as major hurdles to the capital's socio-economic development and an urgent matter that must be resolved quickly.

"We intend to make an example out of a number of large projects, which have been on hiatus for a long time now, and set the standards for others to follow suit," he said.

According to Thanh, out of some 135 projects that have not been granted land for development the city has proposed to cancel 12, with 45 more under consideration before a final decision can be made. The city has also reviewed over 400 projects that have been granted land for development. Of which, 105 have made significant progress, 71 have been given extensions and 37 have been proposed to be removed from the city's future development planning.

Director of the city's planning and investment department Bui Duy Cuong said the city is to ramp up efforts to study the rest in the third quarter of 2022. Depending on the result of said study, the city intends to remove projects that have failed to progress or are considered to be sluggish. — VNS