The Thủ Thiêm New Urban Area. — Photo thanhnien.vn

HCM CITY — Residents who had their land illegally taken by the local authorities have been told they will finally be compensated – at current market value.

More than 20 years ago, Thủ Thiêm new urban area project in HCM City’s District 2 was approved by then-Prime Minister Võ Văn Kiệt.

Only now the thousands of people affected have learned the amount of compensation they will receive.

Discussions are underway to evaluate exactly how much money they will get, but Võ Văn Hoan, vice chairman of the municipal People’s Committee said it will be calculated at today’s market value.

Only when residents are satisfied with the amount, will they be reimbursed, the vice chairman told at a press briefing on Wednesday.

It was found that the master plan and construction management had a number of shortcomings and violations on the part of the city People’s Committee and other relevant agencies during the investment and development processes. This has led to long-standing complaints from people whose land was appropriated.

Hundreds of households living outside the planning boundary had their land taken and have been complaining for years.

After the Government Inspectorate’s results were released, the city People’s Committee worked with State agencies to identify if the 4.3ha of land developed was within the planning boundary.

The city People’s Committee completed the map and issued a decision to it was outside the specified area in Bình An Ward, District 2.

After completing legal, the city People’s Committee assigned the District 2 People’s Committee to offer compensation and support their resettlement.

Nguyễn Phước Hưng, chairman of District 2 People’s Committee said the local authorities had meetings with households living inside the 4.3ha area. 331 households attended the first meeting and 305 households attended the second one.

The District 2’s authorities will complete the compensation policy and announce it to the media in due course, he said.

The HCM City’s authorities were asked to return more than VNĐ26.31 trillion (US$1.12 billion) from the State budget it had provided as advances last September for developing the Thủ Thiêm New Urban Area.

Trần Mai Phương, deputy director of the city Department of Finance, said the authorities have proposed the Prime Minister allow the city to continue to use the State budget for compensation.

After receiving the PM’s approval, the city authorities will add the borrowed money to the mid-term public investment plan of the municipal People’s Council.    

Officials are reviewing violations. The roles and responsibilities of State officials involved will be reviewed, the city’s vice chairman said.

The Thủ Thiêm Urban Area covers 657ha with nearly 30 per cent of land lots being developed for commercial purposes. Others are for public services including the central square, riverside park and children’s palace.

On Wednesday at the press briefing, it was revealed that 99.97 per cent of affected local households have so far received compensation. The total compensation was estimated at nearly VNĐ17.5 trillion.

The project is located on Thủ Thiêm Peninsula in HCM City’s District 2, which faces downtown District 1 across the Sài Gòn River.

The proposed financial district and mixed-use urban area of HCM City will be the largest inner-city development in Southeast Asia.

It has taken more than 10 years to complete site clearance of most of the Thủ Thiêm Peninsula, with nearly 15,000 households already resettled. — VNS