As land—a vital national resource for development—continues to be placed at the center of the Party’s leadership, it is not only a strategic decision but also the key to resolving long-standing challenges in managing and utilizing national resources

The 12th plenum of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam held on July 18–19, 2025, discussed and gave feedback on several major topics, including amendments to previous resolutions and conclusions issued by the Party Central Committee. These changes aim to lay a political foundation for addressing legal bottlenecks and promoting development in the new era. Once again, land policy and legislation remain at the heart of the agenda—not only because this is a sensitive and contentious area, but also because it is closely tied to the interests of the people and is a fundamental factor in driving socio-economic development. Just a week earlier, the Government held a conference to review three years of implementing Resolution 18-NQ/TW dated June 16, 2022 on improvement of land management and use and one year of enforcing the 2024 Land Law. Many shortcomings were identified. Notably, current land policies and laws remain inconsistent with the new model of reorganizing local government structures into two administrative levels and fail to fully meet the country’s development needs in this new phase. The land recovery mechanism remains fragmented, with different rules still applying to public and private investment projects. Related procedures such as land recovery, compensation, support, resettlement, land allocation, land leasing, and land-use conversion remain overly complicated and time-consuming, causing implementation delays and negatively affecting people’s rights. Moreover, the financial policies on land, as envisioned in Resolution 18-NQ/TW, have yet to be fully institutionalized—especially regarding the State’s role in determining and controlling land prices as the representative of the entire population’s land ownership. Many localities continue to witness land auctions being manipulated for speculation and price inflation, destabilizing the real estate market and leading to numerous consequences. Importantly, the broader legal framework related to land still lacks consistency and synchronization. It is frequently revised and supplemented, but without a clear direction, thereby increasing legal risks for both citizens and businesses. The critical tasks of research, planning, allocation, and rational use of land—key to unlocking resources for development—have yet to receive adequate attention in certain localities. Given the shortcomings identified by the Government and the strategic direction from the 12th plenum of the Party Central Committee, it is evident that land policies are poised for reform. This time, the changes will go beyond technical adjustments, aiming instead to fundamentally reset the legal foundation for managing one of the nation’s most important resources. From the Party Central Committee’s orientation, three major pillars can be seen as guiding principles for the upcoming land policy reforms: First, improving the legal framework on land ownership, planning, and use. This is the core requirement to resolve long-standing legal bottlenecks that have stirred public concern. Issues such as land ownership by all people, mechanisms for land allocation and leasing, and land-use right auctions must be clarified, made transparent, and fair. Without this, these issues will continue to hinder the investment and business environment. The Party Central Committee emphasized the need to balance the interests of the State, citizens, and businesses—an essential answer to the current conflicts of interest in land management and use. Second, establishing a centralized, unified, synchronized, multi-purpose, and interconnected national land database and information system. Land governance through digital technology and interconnected, standardized data is an irreversible trend. Creating a national land information system will not only enhance transparency and efficiency in management but is also a prerequisite for implementing reasonable land taxation, facilitating electronic transactions, and eliminating the current problems of overlapping claims and inconsistent land administration across regions. The third pillar is prioritizing land allocation for the development of infrastructure, industry, services, and urban areas. In Vietnam’s upcoming medium-term development phase, the demand for concentrating land into these target groups is enormous, with most of the land resources expected to come from agricultural land. The approach of “prioritizing land allocation” for these purposes is well aligned with the new phase of development and will also serve as a “foundation” for formulating appropriate policies, ensuring the interests of all stakeholders, and enhancing the efficiency of land use. However, amending land policy has never been an easy task. Interwoven interest groups, along with persistent shortcomings in land management, pose significant obstacles. Even with comprehensive revisions to the law, the real challenge lies in implementation. Without a synchronized data system, a professional management team, and an effective monitoring mechanism, ensuring that land is used for its intended purposes and contributes to development will remain a difficult problem to solve. At a recent session of the National Assembly Standing Committee, National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man stated that the NA would seek approval from authorities to continue amending the 2024 Land Law during its year-end session, in order to facilitate both businesses and citizens. Reforming land policy is among the most complex and sensitive legislative tasks; but resolving this issue in a fundamental and effective manner would unlock critical resources for socio-economic development. As Party General Secretary To Lam emphasized, land is a “crucial resource for national development.” Its management and use must “balance the interests of the State, the people, and businesses,” and “ensure the common good of the entire population.” These are the core principles guiding this round of land policy reform. At the same time, a shift in legislative thinking is needed—to make the law not merely a tool for governance but truly an instrument for development. This spirit, as enshrined in Resolution 66-NQ/TW on reforming law-making and law enforcement, will also serve as a “lever” to remove institutional bottlenecks and create breakthroughs in land management and utilization.