The licensing of forestation projects to foreign investors and how to ensure that rice growers make profits of at least 30 percent compared with production costs topped the concerns of lawmakers at the June 11 Q&A session with Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Cao Duc Phat.
On the leasing of forestation land to foreign investors, Phat said 10 cities and provinces across the country have approved projects with a combined area of 305,353 ha, but they have to date handed over just 15,644 ha to the investors under 50-year contracts.
However, Deputy Le Quang Binh, Chairman of the National Assembly’s Committee for National Defence and Security, did not agreed with the figure as reported by the minister, citing the committee’s own surveys that show up to 398,374 ha had been committed to 19 foreign-invested forestation projects in 18 provinces.
Most of the licensed land is located in areas that are important to the nation’s national defence and security while others are riverhead or protective forests, Binh noted.
Binh nevertheless said he agreed with the government’s solution to the issue by asking cities and provinces to stop granting investment licences to foreign investors and at the same time, allocate the remaining forestation land to households, individuals and domestic companies.
The government needs to work out measures to deal with the land designated foreign-invested projects and revise the delegation of power to local administrations in the licensing of forestation land to foreign investors in the direction of strengthening supervision, he added.
While sharing Binh’s opinions, the Minister of Planning and Investment, Vo Hong Phuc, pledged to withdraw licences of all projects that might affect the country’s national defence and security, as well as those intended to occupy large areas of land for inappropriate purposes.
Phuc assured the legislators that his ministry will review the licensing of forestation projects in provinces. The licensing must be based on different laws such as the Enterprise Law, the Land Law, the National Defence Law and the NA’s Resolution No. 66, he said./.
On the leasing of forestation land to foreign investors, Phat said 10 cities and provinces across the country have approved projects with a combined area of 305,353 ha, but they have to date handed over just 15,644 ha to the investors under 50-year contracts.
However, Deputy Le Quang Binh, Chairman of the National Assembly’s Committee for National Defence and Security, did not agreed with the figure as reported by the minister, citing the committee’s own surveys that show up to 398,374 ha had been committed to 19 foreign-invested forestation projects in 18 provinces.
Most of the licensed land is located in areas that are important to the nation’s national defence and security while others are riverhead or protective forests, Binh noted.
Binh nevertheless said he agreed with the government’s solution to the issue by asking cities and provinces to stop granting investment licences to foreign investors and at the same time, allocate the remaining forestation land to households, individuals and domestic companies.
The government needs to work out measures to deal with the land designated foreign-invested projects and revise the delegation of power to local administrations in the licensing of forestation land to foreign investors in the direction of strengthening supervision, he added.
While sharing Binh’s opinions, the Minister of Planning and Investment, Vo Hong Phuc, pledged to withdraw licences of all projects that might affect the country’s national defence and security, as well as those intended to occupy large areas of land for inappropriate purposes.
Phuc assured the legislators that his ministry will review the licensing of forestation projects in provinces. The licensing must be based on different laws such as the Enterprise Law, the Land Law, the National Defence Law and the NA’s Resolution No. 66, he said./.
