Land clearance bottlenecks stem from implementation, Dak Lak leaders told to act directly

For years, several major projects in Dak Lak remained stuck over land clearance. A 45-day campaign changed the approach by sending officials into communities to examine each project, plot and household rather than simply track paperwork.

The strategy produced sharp gains. Clearance for the second phase of the Ea Tam irrigation lake rose from below half to nearly complete, while the Buon M’Rê-Buon Niêng route increased from below 10 percent to nearly 98 percent. The road linking Bai Goc port to the Van Phong Economic Zone completed clearance, and the Hoa Tam Industrial Park added more than 150 hectares, bringing the cleared area above 380 hectares.

Trần Viết Ngự, director of the Buon Ma Thuot construction investment project management board, said officials identified the obstacle, the person responsible and a deadline for each case. The main difficulties involved land records from different periods, land origins, compensation and resettlement. “Land clearance is difficult, but if officials stay close to the grassroots, hold dialogue to build consensus, assign clear responsibility and follow the rules, long-standing bottlenecks can be removed,” he said.

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Land clearance is difficult, but if officials stay close to the grassroots, hold dialogue to build consensus, assign clear responsibility and follow the rules, long-standing bottlenecks can be removed.

Dak Lak expanded the campaign from 42 to 53 projects and formed five working groups to operate in the field. After 45 days, seven projects had completed clearance and 15 had reached at least 90 percent. Those projects included the Khanh Hoa-Buon Ma Thuot expressway, Bai Goc port, the Bai Goc-Van Phong connection, Ea Sup Thuong reservoir, and provincial roads 13 and 1.

The campaign has not solved every case. More than 20 projects remain below 90 percent, while 10 have not begun clearance. Remaining disputes concern land origins and classifications, compensation rates, assets on the land, resettlement and households that have not handed over their plots. Officials stressed that cleared land must now become construction sites and translate into completed work and disbursement.

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Land clearance is only a necessary condition. We must turn cleared land into construction volume, output and ultimately disbursement value.