Deputy Prime Minister Hồ Quốc Dũng chairs a conference to review and appraise the revised national land use plan on Monday. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — Deputy Prime Minister Hồ Quốc Dũng on Monday urged relevant agencies to prioritise allocating land resources to key driving-force projects and nationally significant works in transport infrastructure, energy, industrial park development and urban development to create momentum for economic growth.

He was speaking while chairing a conference to review and appraise the revised national land use plan for the 2021-2030 period, with a vision toward 2050.

Presenting a summary report on the proposed revision, a representative of the National Centre for Land Investigation and Planning under the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment said land had been identified as an especially important resource, a primary means of production and a strategic asset for national development.

The adjustment must ensure consistency throughout the planning system from the central to the local levels while promoting the rational, economical, and efficient allocation of land resources and balancing economic development objectives with environmental protection, climate change adaptation and social welfare.

Land management and use must be conducted in an open and transparent manner to prevent losses, wastefulness and corruption, according to the centre.

Land-use demand in the coming period will prioritise the development of a synchronised and modern infrastructure system, industrial parks, economic zones, and logistics centres, as well as nationally strategic transportation projects, major urban areas and key energy projects.

The plan will maintain a reasonable area of rice-growing land to safeguard national food security and protect and expand forest resources, to maintain forest coverage above 42 per cent and strengthen biodiversity conservation and the protection of important ecosystems.

Deputy PM Dũng stressed that the national land use plan should not merely be about allocating land-use quotas, but must truly serve as a lever for economic growth, environmental protection, national defence and security and the maximisation of the value of one of the country's most important strategic resources.

He said the plan must ensure consistency, synchronisation and close alignment with national, regional and provincial planning frameworks.

The Deputy Prime Minister also called for a thorough resolution of land waste, particularly the persistent problem of “suspended planning” projects, long-delayed developments and completed urban and housing projects that remain vacant, resulting in the waste of valuable resources.

The adjusted plan must aim to put land into productive and efficient use for development purposes and prevent land speculation and project hoarding, he said.

He also urged the need for careful calculations to maintain sufficient rice-growing land to safeguard national food security, while allowing flexibility to convert low-efficiency areas to higher-value economic uses when necessary.

Emphasising the need to strengthen state management and post-implementation oversight, the Deputy Prime Minister called for the establishment of a monitoring and evaluation system to assess the annual implementation of land-use targets by ministries, sectors and localities.

At the conference, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment proposed accelerating the development of a centralised and unified national land database with the application of advanced technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Big Data, the Internet of Things (IoT), and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to manage and monitor land-use changes, detect violations at an early stage and support decision-making processes. — VNS