Hanoi will spend nearly 1 trillion VND (47.5 million USD) this year to complete a cadastral survey and expedite the process of granting land-use right certificates to prospective users.

The statement was made by vice chairman of the municipal People's Committee Vu Hong Khanh, who added that the funds would also be used to complete a land management database.

A cadastral survey is a comprehensive register of the real estate (including ownership, location and dimensions of land) in a country.

Of the funding, about 900 billion VND (42.75 million USD) will be used to prepare cadastral maps of the entire city and a land management database, while 83 billion VND (4 million USD) will be used to review the use of farming/forestry land and for granting land-use right certificates to eligible users.

Vice Chairman Khanh said that, last year, the city achieved its target for granting land-use certificates, also known as ‘red books', to land users who had applied for the certificates for the first time.

With nearly 19,300 plots of land being used by groups or organisations, the city has certified nearly 8,100 plots of land, accounting for 42 percent of the total land plots. In the past year alone, 1,200 land-use right certificates were granted to eligible organisations.

Khanh pointed out that to help prospective land users applying for the red book for the first time, the city has adopted some administrative reform measures, including offering an online public service for issuing certificates, introducing online application forms and promoting a one-stop application system.

However, he noted that difficulties remain in certifying land involved in regulatory violations or improperly allocated earlier.

"This year, the city will continue to review and help organisations, individuals and households to address the difficulties in receiving land-use right certificates," he added.

This year, it plans to grant at least 2,000 certificates to organisations and 45,573 certificates to households and individuals.

In addition, it will examine 144,000 ha for which prospective land users were denied certificates because of insufficient documents.-VNA