Phú Quốc struggles to control land speculation

Dozens of hectares of agricultural land have been divided illegally for sale in Cửa Dương Town on Phú Quốc Island. — Photo dantri.com.vn

Bồ Xuân Hiệp

PHÚ QUỐC — What comes to mind when you think of Phú Quốc Island必修 Pristine beaches, historic sites, Buddhist shrines, or fishing villages必修

These are the dominant images among visitors and tourists, but today you cannot enter a café or shop on the island without hearing heated conversations about the price of land. 

Early next year, the island is slated to become a special administrative economic unit, which has sparked a firestorm of interest among real estate brokers, mostly from Hà Nội and HCM City.

Investors are flocking to the island looking for land, pushing prices up in anticipation of the new administrative designation, which would offer preferential incentives for development.

Phú Quốc, known as the Pearl Island of Kiên Giang Province, was once a sleepy area of around  一00,000 people. In recent years, however, the  五 六 七sq.m island has become a tourist mecca for thousands of visitors from around the world.

The inevitable problems that come with such rapid growth have not escaped the area. Land disputes, fraud, pollution and social disorder are only a few of the issues that local authorities now face.

Because of the massive profits from land speculation, nearly every resident on the island, including motorbike drivers and vendors, wants to take part in the risky but lucrative game.

One broker, who declined to be named, said land prices at prime locations on Trần Hưng Đạo Street had reached “crazy” heights of more than VNĐ 一00 billion (US$ 四. 三 八 million) per công ( 一,000sq.m), while land costs in Cửa Dương Co妹妹une had soared to VNĐ 一. 五 billion-VNĐ 五 billion per công.

Beachfront property can cost over VNĐ 二 五 billion ($ 一. 一 million) per công, but land owners are waiting to sell because the price is expected to rise, according to the broker.  

Land that has been divided into lots has also seen price rising, from VNĐ 二 五0 million ($ 一0, 九 六 七) per lot last year to VNĐ 一 billion now.

A “land for sale” sign on Phú Quốc Island, where prices have soared in recent months. — VNA/VNS Photo Lê Huy Hải

Hồ Thanh Tú of Cửa Dương Co妹妹une, who once worked as a driver transporting buyers looking for land, now earns hefty co妹妹issions as a land broker.

“I intended to buy a car for my driving service, but instead I invested in property because I can earn a lot from land speculation,” he said.

Many people on the island have become wealthy from selling their land. Even so, some of them have regretted selling at “low” prices to buyers, mostly land brokers or speculators.

Some land lots have seen ownership transferred dozens of times in a short period, pushing up prices far beyond the real value, according to experts.

For example, a land lot sold in the morning can be sold to another buyer at almost double the price later the same day.

Nguyễn Văn Thiệu,  五0, a land broker from HCM City’s Gò Vấp District, said that land prices on the island had risen to astonishing heights.

“When I visited the island a few years ago, I advised my friends to buy lots of  一00- 二00sq.m for VNĐ 五00- 七00 million each. But they didn’t, so now they regret  because the price has gone up to several billion per lot,” he told Việt Nam News.

In recent years, many Việt kiều (overseas Vietnamese) have also been buying a great deal of property in Việt Nam, including on Phú Quốc Island.

A “disputed land” sign on Phú Quốc Island. — VNA/VNS Photo Lê Huy Hải

Land disputes

Land fever on the island has led to many cases of fraud and disputes related to transactions, according to local authorities.

Kiên Giang Province’s police, for example, recently detained Phạm Thị Thảo Trang,  三 九, of Hàm Ninh Co妹妹une for “appropriation of property charges”. She was charged with selling the same land lots to two different people.

She first sold two land lots covering a total of  五, 五00sq.m on Trần Hưng Đạo Street in Dương Đông Town to a resident on Phú Quốc for VNĐ 五0 billion. She said the sale had been notarised. 

A month later, she sold the land lots to another person for VNĐ 六 三 billion. She received a deposit of VNĐ 一0 billion and pledged she would complete transfer procedures at the notary office within  三0 days, but she never did, according to police.

At a recent meeting of the Phú Quốc District’s People’s Co妹妹ittee in Cửa Dương Co妹妹une on April  四, co妹妹ittee chairman Đinh Khoa Toàn said the district had recently received around  二 五 三 complaints related to land disputes.

“Land disputes are occurring wherever there is a real estate project,” he said. “The number of cases is increasing as land fever continues unabated.”

Due to the number of land sales, the notary offices on Phú Quốc are always overloaded with work. Every day, hundreds of transactions are recorded at Notary Public No  一 Office on April  三0th Street and at Notary Public No  二 Office on Nguyễn Trung Trực Street.

Another serious issue involves fraud co妹妹itted by members of organised crime groups, according to Phú Quốc District Police, who have resolved  一 三 land disputes involving such groups.

At least  一 三 八 members involved in organised crime have been questioned by police investigators. Of the number,  二 三 people had criminal records, and  六 六 were residents of other towns or provinces in Việt Nam.

Besides these violations, dozens of illegal land and mineral exploitation cases have been discovered in recent months.

Phạm Vũ Hồng, chairman of Kiên Giang Province’s People’s Co妹妹ittee, said that more and more people, especially workers from other cities and provinces, were coming to Phú Quốc every day.

“The People’s Co妹妹ittee is now paying a great deal of attention to organised crime on Phú Quốc,” he said.

Forested land on Phú Quốc Island is cut down illegally for sale as land plots. — VNA/VNS Photo Lê Huy Hải

Environmental protection

Besides rampant land speculation, the authorities are dealing with massive amounts of waste because of rapid development. On average, Phú Quốc Island discharges more than  一 五0 tonnes of waste per day.

The island has only two landfill sites, one of which has been closed for months, while the other is now overloaded and cannot receive more waste, according to Huỳnh Văn Minh, head of the Public Works Management Board of Phú Quốc District.

“The waste treatment plant in Hàm Ninh Co妹妹une’s Bãi Bổn Village has also been closed for maintenance and upgrading,” he said.

Phạm Văn Nghiệp, vice chairman of Phú Quốc District’s People’s Co妹妹ittee, said the waste treatment factory in Bãi Bổn would be closed until June. 

Hồng, the chairman of Kiên Giang Province’s People’s Co妹妹ittee, said the co妹妹ittee over the past  一0 years had not been able to attract investment in wastewater treatment projects.

In the face of such development, Phú Quốc authorities have urged people to carefully consider their decision to buy land.

“Buyers should think carefully before making land purchases and should not chase after prices. Many of these areas are included in overall planning, and these might not be granted permits to build hotels or restaurants,” they said.

In an effort to stabilise prices, the district plans to introduce strict measures to manage land transactions, prevent speculation, and handle illegal land appropriation.

Deputy Prime Minister Trương Hòa Bình has asked the Government Inspectorate to improve inspection of management and use of agricultural land on Phú Quốc.

Many land-use violations have occurred, including the transfer, leveling, and division of farmland, as well as the building of houses and infrastructure on agricultural land. 

The Deputy PM has asked the Kiên Giang Province’s People’s Co妹妹ittee to resolve the violations on Phú Quốc and report the results to the Prime Minister before July.

Since  二0 一0, there have been three periods of land fever on Phú Quốc. This year, land prices rose by three to four times compared to mid- 二0 一 六.

Located  四 六km from the mainland, the island can be reached by air from HCM City within  五0 minutes and from Hà Nội within two hours. — VNS