Land database proves headache

The building of a computerised national land database has encountered numerous difficulties, said Tran Kiem Dung, head of Science Technology and International Co-operation Unit at the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment’s Department of Information Technology.

The Government ratified the plan seven years ago with the object of unifying Viet Nam’s scattered land databases.

“To date however not one province or city has set up a complete computerised land database,” he added.

One of the major reasons was the lack of synchronisation in land management among authorities and changing ownership, Dung said.

Land databases in hundreds of offices throughout the country fast became outdated, making it difficult to set up a national system, he added.

Officials from the Department of Land Management said it would take a great deal of time to set up a national database. To date, just 10 per cent to 15 per cent of communes have up-to-date land databases. Furthermore, local land databases had not been digitised in most localities, meaning that land reports sent to higher authorities were usually on paper, he said.

Dung emphasised the importance of building a national land database, which he said would improve public access to land and management transparency. — VNS

Tags: Vietnam Land database