Authorities in the southern province of Kien Giang’s Phu Quoc District urged careful consideration to be given to decisions regarding land purchases.

A land for sale advertisement in Phu Quoc Island. 

This consideration comes amidst a land price fever heating up in the island district over prospects that it would become a special administrative economic unit.

According to Huynh Quang Hung, deputy chairman of the Phu Quoc People’s Committee, land prices in Phu Quoc rose by around 80-90 per cent in November.

The land prices were pushed up rapidly due to information that the island district would be developed into a special administrative economic unit with a casino going to be put into operation and a number of investors planning to pump money here.

Buyers were mainly from HCM City and Ha Noi.

Land prices in advantageous locations for the hotel or restaurant business in Dong Duong Town were reportedly traded at around VND50 billion (US$2.2 million) for 1,000sq.metres.

In the north of the island, such as Cua Duong, Cua Can, Bai Thom and Ganh Dau communes, land prices were traded at around VND3.5 billion for 1,000sq.metres, while in areas near the airport and beaches, the prices were around VND8-15 billion for 1,000sq.metres.

Le Quang Minh, head of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment, was quoted by Lao Dong (Labourer) newspaper saying that there were land slots for which ownership was transferred dozens of times in a short period.

This pushed up land prices far beyond the real value, he said.

The district authorities said that buyers should think carefully before making any land purchase decision and should not chase after the land price fever, adding that many areas were included in the planning and might not be granted permits for building hotels or restaurants.

The People’s Committee also said that it would introduce strict measures to better manage land transactions in the island to stabilise prices, prevent speculation and handle illegal land appropriation. — VNS