City authorities have ordered the removal of an unlicensed construction work in HCM City’s District 9. — VNA/VNS Photo Trần Xuân Tình

HCM CITY — The HCM City Department of Construction will work with local districts and agencies to create a construction order management team to address the increasing number of violations.

The team will follow the city Party Committee's instruction on imposing stricter penalties on individuals and companies that violate regulations on construction projects, said Lê Hoà Bình, director of the Department of Construction.

Bình spoke at a conference on Tuesday to review the city’s socio-economic development in the first nine months and set tasks for the remaining months of the year.

“Violations in construction occur nearly everywhere in the city, especially in outlying areas such as Bình Chánh, Củ Chi and Hóc Môn districts, and in districts 9 and Thủ Đức,” he said. “Corruption in construction is common but hard to detect.” 

Violations ranging from illegal construction on agricultural land to housing being built without permits occur because of lax enforcement by local authorities. 

Illegal residential construction on farmland has also been taking place for years.

Nguyễn Thành Phong, chairman of the People’s Committee, said: “The city’s view is to strictly punish the violators, with no excuses and exceptions.”

For instance, the city assigned the City Inspectorate to inspect construction of 110 villas in District 7 and handle responsibilities of Bình Chánh District officials.

The city also ordered the City Inspectorate to examine the current illegal construction in Thủ Đức District, according to Phong.

Trần Văn Bảy, chairman of District 9’s People’s Committee, said that violations in construction were caused by unclear laws, creating confusion among officials who process documents for land-use conversion. 

The district’s People’s Committee has also met with related departments to discuss the issue, but has yet to come up with a solution, he said.

Year-end targets

To meet this year’s socio-economic targets such as GDP growth and budget revenue, Phong said that serious practical solutions must be proposed.

The city’s GDP growth reached 7.8 per cent in the first nine months, but the target for the year is 8.3-8.5 per cent. 

District authorities have been asked to speed up delayed public projects and improve the investment environment in the remaining months of the year.

Projects that are behind schedule have been plagued with problems such as a lack of consistency in the laws and an overlap in content between laws on public investment, construction and land. 

In addition, public investment disbursement remains too slow because of delays in site clearance compensation and compensation prices. 

Lê Thị Huỳnh Mai, director of the Department of Planning and Investment, said as of September 30, the city had disbursed more than 40 per cent of public investment. 

In the agriculture sector, Trần Ngọc Hổ, deputy director of Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said by the end of this year the agriculture and rural development sector would focus on producing key agricultural products.

The sector will also promote the transfer of technology and resources to local residents, fight epidemics that affect plants and animals, and ensure the supply of goods for the coming Lunar New Year. 

For tasks in the remaining months, Hà Phước Thắng, chief of the Secretariat of the People’s Committee, said the city would continue promoting seven "breakthrough" programmes and implement the conclusions of the Government Inspectorate on the Thủ Thiêm land dispute, among others. 

The city will also speed up the disbursement of public investment and ensure the quality of projects, and continue to equitise state-owned enterprises.

In the first nine months, the city achieved Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP) of US$44.5 billion, up 7.8 per cent over the same period last year, according to Phong. 

The city collected VNĐ287.173 trillion ($12.41 billion) worth of revenue in the period, accounting for nearly 72 per cent of the year’s target, up 7.2 per cent over the same period. Total retail sales of goods and services rose by 11.9 per cent over the same period last year. 

The number of international visitors to the city reached over 6.2 million in the period, up 14.3 per cent against last year’s nine-month period.

The city attracted foreign direct investment (FDI) worth $5.43 billion, up 3.48 per cent over the same period in 2018, according to figures released by city authorities. — VNS