Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Tran Hong Ha. The Land Law does not regulate the issuance of land use rights to foreigners – PHOTO: SGGPO

In response to the Ministry of National Defense’s concern over the large number of prime land lots in Danang City being owned by Chinese nationals, Ha insisted that the Land Law bans the granting of land use rights certificates to foreign nationals. Foreign enterprises will be governed by the Investment Law and the Law on Housing rather than the Land Law when it comes to dealing with land issues.

"The Land Law contains no provisions related to the issuance of land use rights to aliens," Ha noted. 

The Danang Department of Natural Resources and Environment had earlier offered a solution, Ha noted, adding that he was willing to provide written responses if the public remains concerned about the issue, the local media reported.

Meanwhile, Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung told reporters on the same day that it is necessary to tighten control over foreign ownership of land, especially that of significant importance to national defense.

As for foreigners’ rights to land in prime sites, Minister Dung also stated that local authorities must manage and handle the problem.

The ministry is studying rights to land owned by foreigners and will introduce new directives, he said.

Earlier, the Ministry of National Defense said in a report that as many as 134 Chinese firms were active in Vietnam, using a total area of 162,467 hectares of land.

In Danang City, some 135 coastal land lots were held by Chinese-invested firms between 2011 and 2015. SGT