The Access to Land Index is one of the important elements of the Provincial Competitiveness Index (PCI), reflecting the quality and effect of State management of land to build an enabling business investment environment and create an attractive and reliable destination for investors. Being aware of this importance, in the past years, the Yen Bai Department of Natural Resources and Environment has actively carried out solutions for better service quality and support for people and businesses with respect to land access, thus helping draw more investors to the province and raise its PCI rankings.

According to the PCI 2019 released by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), Yen Bai province ranked 36 out of 63 provinces and cities, to secure a position in the well-governed basket. Among 10 PCI component indicators, none declined from 2018, with nine gaining scores. Specifically, the Access to Land Index rose from 5.99 points to 6.11 points, to play a considerable role in raising the province’s PCI - the third straight year of growth of this indicator.

To achieve this result, in the past years, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment has actively worked with local authorities to reduce the time required to issue certificates of land-use rights, house and property ownership for organizations and individuals; announce market-based land prices; and make land-use plans to arrange the land fund for investors. The department has drastically stepped up administrative procedure reform to reduce harassment, improve service quality, and increase support for people and businesses.

Mr. Ho Duc Hop, Director of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment, said, to boost service quality for people and businesses, the department has concentrated on reviewing and assessing administrative procedures under its jurisdiction to make necessary regulatory amendments; reducing the time needed to carry out land administrative procedures concerning land acquisition, land allocation, land lease, land-use repurposing and land-use right certification. The department has publicly announced all public administrative procedures at its working offices and public administration centers; published, updated and announced administrative procedures and legal documents on its website and the province’s website. It has applied the single-window mechanism in settling administrative procedures to facilitate people and businesses to easily access information on land use, and ensure publicity and transparency of land access.

To make the business investment environment better, especially the Access to Land Index in 2020-2025, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment has worked out plans, tasks and solutions like perfecting mechanisms and policies on land; built the Yen Bai Development Plan in 2021 - 2030 and to 2050, the Yen Bai Land Plan in 2021 - 2025 and the District Land Plan in 2021 - 2030 and to 2050; and completed land information, land database and cadastral records with greater publicity and transparency.

Besides, the department will accelerate administrative reform and raise the Public Administration Reform Index with respect to natural resources and environment; receive administrative documents and deliver results hereof via public postal services and online public service portals (Category 3 and Category 4); strengthen scientific and technological application to administrative reform; inspect and assess land quality, land statistics and inventories; introduce land price maps, monitor changes in land resources integrated with environmental factors; build a truly transparent and effective public administration to ensure good State management and public land services to facilitate the people and businesses.

The agency will continue to arrange and consolidate the organizational structure, streamline personnel, build up the workforce with higher quality, higher qualifications and better ethics; strictly carry out the Central Resolution 4 (12th term) on strengthening the construction and regulation of the Party, prevention and suppression of deterioration of ideology, politics, morality, lifestyle and self-evolving and self-transforming factors.