Resolution No. 21-NQ/TW, dated July 28, 2026, calls for eliminating overlaps and inconsistencies in land and related laws. Many real estate projects have been left “on hold” because of conflicts between land-use and construction plans. How do such delays affect economic growth?
When a project already has an investor, resources have been mobilized, and even part of the infrastructure has been developed, but it cannot move forward because of legal obstacles or inconsistencies between, for example, land-use and construction plans, the impact extends far beyond the individual project or company. It represents a waste of resources across the economy in several respects:
First, it slows growth and reduces investment efficiency: A stalled project means corporate capital is not being put into production or business activities, workers do not have jobs, and the State does not generate additional revenue from land, taxes, or related economic activity. If this situation occurs on a large scale, it reduces the efficiency of capital use and productivity across the economy.
Second, it wastes a particularly important resource: land: Land is a finite resource. A plot of land left unused for years is not simply a project that has yet to be implemented; it also represents a missed development opportunity.
Third, it undermines market confidence: When regulations overlap, processing times are prolonged, and businesses cannot predict whether or when a project can be implemented, costs and risks increase. This affects investment decisions, particularly for large-scale projects.
Resolution No. 21 directly addresses this issue. Accordingly, one of its key requirements is to complete a comprehensive and consistent legal framework governing land and related laws, while addressing shortcomings, overlaps, and conflicts in implementation, thereby unlocking land resources for development.
The Resolution also sets a clear goal of managing land in a strict, transparent, fair, efficient, and sustainable manner, and turning land into a strategic resource, competitive advantage, and driver of national development.
What mechanisms does the amended Law on Planning, passed on December 10, 2025, establish to address this bottleneck?
A very important aspect of the amended Law on Planning is that it does not simply address procedural obstacles. It establishes a more integrated mechanism linking planning with the investment process, directly addressing one of the bottlenecks that the real estate market and businesses have faced in recent years by clearly defining the relationship between different types of planning and setting out specific rules for assessing whether projects are consistent with those plans.
Regarding the relationship between different types of planning, the Law on Planning 2025 has re-established a unified planning system, covering national-level planning, regional planning, provincial planning, detailed sectoral planning, and urban and rural planning. The overarching principle is that plans must be spatially integrated and coordinated and serve common development objectives.
The Law stipulates that lower-level plans and plans intended to provide greater detail must be consistent with and implemented in accordance with higher-level plans. It also establishes mechanisms to determine which plan should be implemented and which plan must be adjusted when different plans conflict.
A particularly new and practically significant provision for businesses is that, when considering approval or endorsement of a project’s investment policy, the competent authority will use one of the plans within the national planning system as the basis for assessing the project’s consistency with planning requirements. This means that businesses will not have to wait for all relevant plans to be completed or adjusted before their investment policy can be considered.
Many projects remain stalled because they are simply not feasible. How will the new Law address this issue?
In practice, some projects are no longer aligned with development needs, lack the resources required for implementation, or involve investors whose capacity does not meet the necessary requirements.
The Law on Planning 2025 introduces a requirement for planning feasibility. A plan should not only determine what will be developed and where; it must also answer two critical questions: Where will the resources come from, and when will implementation take place? Planning must be linked to the ability to mobilize land, financial, infrastructure, and human resources, and must include a roadmap and solutions for implementation.
For projects that are currently “stalled,” I believe they should be reviewed against three criteria: Is the project still consistent with planning and development priorities? Is it capable of mobilizing resources and ensuring implementation on schedule? And does it genuinely meet the needs of the market and people, as well as broader socio-economic development requirements? This is particularly important for urban, housing, and real estate projects.
I believe this is also a key principle of Resolution No. 21: land must be managed, allocated, and used economically, efficiently, and sustainably. We must unlock land resources for development while simultaneously combating waste, speculation, and inefficient land-use.
What mechanisms will protect people’s rights in areas that have been included in planning but where the State does not yet have the resources to implement those plans?
This is a very important issue because planning must serve development, but people cannot be left bearing the consequences simply because the resources to implement a plan have not yet been secured.
The spirit of the Law on Planning 2025 is to improve the feasibility of planning by linking development objectives with available resources and implementation capacity. At the same time, it requires planning information to be public and transparent, so people can clearly understand how the areas they live in are planned.
I believe that publicly disclosing planning information and building integrated databases covering planning, land, investment, and the real estate market will enable us to better assess the feasibility of projects. When information is transparent, we can clearly identify which projects are being implemented and which are delayed and why.
Another important feature of the Law is its requirement to digitize planning data in its entirety. How do you assess the role of digital technology in making the real estate market more transparent?
One of the problems in the real estate market in recent years has been the lack of consistent information. People and businesses sometimes have difficulty determining exactly which plan applies to a particular plot of land, whether that plan remains in effect or has been amended, and whether a project is consistent with the applicable planning requirements.
The Law on Planning 2025 provides a basis for building, managing, and sharing planning information systems and databases, with the goal of connecting them with relevant databases.
I believe this is not simply a matter of “putting paper records online.” We need to move toward digitizing the entire planning process - from preparation, appraisal, and approval to publication, adjustment, and monitoring of implementation.
The Law on Planning 2025 introduces a requirement for planning feasibility. A plan should not only determine what will be developed and where; it must also answer two critical questions: Where will the resources come from, and when will implementation take place?
When planning data is standardized and connected with land, investment, construction, population, and socio-economic data, we can create a digital map of the country’s development space. People will then be able to easily access information, businesses can proactively assess investment opportunities, and government agencies can monitor planning implementation on a common data platform.
Digital data can significantly reduce information asymmetry, which is one of the factors contributing to speculation and market distortion in real estate. When planning information, legal status, and project implementation status are publicly available, people will no longer have to rely on unofficial sources, while businesses will have a stronger basis for making more transparent investment decisions.
How will this greater transparency change the way businesses and people operate in practice?
I believe that when planning data is digitized, standardized, and made public, the biggest change will be that businesses and people will have greater control over their own decisions, rather than having to rely on unofficial sources or spend significant time verifying information.
For businesses, before making an investment decision, they will be able to directly check planning information. This will allow them to more accurately assess whether a project is consistent with planning, where the legal risks lie, what resources need to be prepared, and what the expected implementation timeline is.
For people, the greatest benefit will be stronger rights to know and monitor. They will be able to proactively check whether the land or home they own, or plan to purchase, is subject to planning restrictions, and how that planning has been approved or subsequently amended.
For government agencies, digital data will make it possible to monitor planning implementation, identify areas showing signs of delays or inefficient land use at an early stage, and detect emerging problems so that appropriate action can be taken in a timely maner.
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