Builders cut public off from beaches

BA RIA – VUNG TAU — Several proposed tourist areas along the Ba Ria – Vung Tau coast have been converted into real estate projects, a trend analysts warn will make many beautiful beaches out of bounds for the public.

The Oceanami Resort & Luxury Home Project in Dat Do District is one of several such in the province, Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper reported.

The 20-ha project near the Nuoc Ngot Pass, one of the most beautiful locations on the Ba Ria-Vung Tau coast, was licensed in 2004 as a tourism area but nothing happened for several years.

Last July a fresh licence was issued for the Oceanami Resort&Luxury Home Project at the site whose construction will begin this month.

Around 40 per cent of the land will be used to build villas and the rest to develop infrastructure and tourism facilities.

"If a beach is used for developing a tourism area, all can enjoy the beach," a deputy director of a local tourism company said.

"But if it is used for a real-estate project, only a few can enjoy the beach because the prices of villas in these places are high."

Nguyen Thanh Dung, chairman of the Dat Do District People's Committee, said the district planned to develop tourist sites along the coast but only a few real-estate projects.

The basic requirement for the latter would be to simultaneously benefit the community and businesses, he said.

"If investors apply for tourism-project licences just to get their hands on land and fail to develop their projects, the land will be repossessed and handed over to other investors," he claimed.

But Dat Do is one of the localities in the province that allow it to happen.

Phan Huu Thang, chairman of the Viet Nam Tourism Property Association, said developing real estate in conjunction with tourism projects would contribute to the development of tourism.

However, for sustainable development, Ba Ria – Vung Tau as well as other coastal localities would have to make zoning plans for tourism development soon, he said.

The plans should clearly define which areas are meant exclusively for tourism projects and which ones for mixed tourism-real estate development, he added. — VNS

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Overseas Vietnamese given new property rights

Overseas Vietnamese living abroad who have maintained their Vietnamese citizenship are permitted to own unlimited property, according to the latest decree on implementation of the Land and Housing Law.

Deputy Minister of construction Nguyen Tran Nam said that this is a change from the previous decree, which has been in force since 2001, which stipulated that only selected groups of people of the Vietnamese origin could own unlimited property.

The new decree stipulates that overseas Vietnamese eligible to buy houses in Vietnam may also enjoy other privileges, such as the transfer of land-use rights when selling; using credit organisations to mortgage their land-use rights; or leasing out the property.

This change promotes further equality between overseas Vietnamese and Vietnamese citizens when it came to property ownership in Vietnam, said Truong Thi Hoa, a lawyer from the HCM City Bar Association.

Nam said this decree also provides specific guidance about the papers overseas Vietnamese are required to present to prove their eligibility to buy real estate.

"All the requirements are more concrete and transparent than before, which will hopefully pave the way for better implementation of the law at local levels," he said.

One of the major hurdles for overseas Vietnamese that hinders them from purchasing property in Vietnam is the procedure to prove their origin, Luong Bach Van, chairwoman of the Overseas Vietnamese Committee in HCM City, said.

"If they lose relevant papers, which is often the case for people who have lived abroad for a long time, the whole process may come to a standstill. For those who have already prepared the necessary certificates, it still takes at least three months to verify them," she said.

Chairman of the Overseas Vietnamese Businessmen Club Nguyen Ngoc My said that many overseas Vietnamese commonly get around the red-tape procedures by putting their real estate transactions under the name of a Vietnamese citizen.

Nguyen Thi Thu Van, who owns an auto dealership in San Francisco and divides her time between Vietnam and the US , said she has bought several houses in Vietnam but asked her relatives to register for ownership.

"This is much quicker, but I am luckier than other overseas Vietnamese who may not have trustees in Vietnam . The new decree is a good signal for all of us, but I am a little bit concerned about its implementation in practice," she said.

My, a Vietnamese Australian, said he bought a house at the beginning of this year but is still waiting for his property ownership certificate.

"I hope the changes in relevant legal documents will help procedures go more smoothly, which will in turn make it easier for overseas Vietnamese to take part in Vietnam's property market," he said.

Deputy Minister Nam said the new regulations will provide incentives for overseas Vietnamese to return to the country to buy houses, which would help boost the real estate market in Vietnam .

He also refuted the concern that overseas Vietnamese could utilise the loosened regulations to find their way into real estate speculation, potentially leading to a housing market bubble.

"In fact, property prices in Vietnam are comparatively high and the housing market is not that attractive," he said.

Nguyen Quang Tuyen, head of Hanoi Law University 's Land Law Department, said the new regulations may create more demand in the housing market but not enough to create a boom because the relevant administrative procedures are still not working very well.

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