Entry into force of the Land Law 2024 (latest update) (

* Article 190 of the Land Law 2024 stipulates on land reclamation in Vietnam as follows:

- The State encourages organizations and individuals using capital, techniques and technologies to carry out land reclamation activities; adopt policies to support and give incentives to investors to carry out land reclamation activities in accordance with law.

- The land reclamation must comply with the following principles:

+ Ensure national defense, security, sovereignty, sovereign rights, jurisdiction and national interests at sea; be in accordance with other relevant laws and international treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a contracting party;

+ On the basis of adequate assessment of the economy, society and environment, ensure sustainable development, biodiversity, natural factors, impacts of natural disasters, climate change and sea level rise;

+ Conform with provincial planning or district-level land use planning or construction planning or urban planning;

+ Exploit and effectively use marine resources; ensure harmony of interests of organizations and individuals carrying out land reclamation activities and other related organizations and individuals; ensure people and communities' right to access the sea;

+ The land reclamation must be established as an investment project or item of an investment project according to the law.

- If the land to be reclaimed includes the area belonging to one of the following zones, land reclamation activities are solely carried out when policies on investment have been approved or decided by the National Assembly or the Prime Minister:

+ Protected areas of historical-cultural monuments and famous landscape, sights that are recognized according to cultural heritage laws;

+ Natural heritage according to environmental protection laws;

+ National parks, nature reserves, species and habitat conservation areas, landscape protection areas, and important wetlands that have been announced in accordance with biodiversity laws and forestry laws;

+ Marine conservation areas, aquatic resource protection areas, fishing ports, storm shelter anchorages for fishing vessels according to fishery laws;

+ Seaport areas, water areas in front of wharfs, ship turning areas, anchorages, transshipment areas, storm shelters, pilot reception areas, quarantine areas, navigable channels, water areas for construction of other auxiliary works according to maritime laws;

+ Estuaries and areas that have been planned and used for national defense and security purposes.

- For the marine waters identified to carry out land reclamation activities in the approved land use planning and the investment project whose investment guidelines have been approved or decided by a competent regulatory agency, the management or use of the marine waters to carry out land reclamation activities is the same as for land on the mainland.

- Responsibilities for state management of land reclamation activities are prescribed as follows:

+ The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment shall assist the Government in unifying state management of land reclamation activities; inspect and examine land reclamation activities and manage land reclamation areas according to the law;

+ Ministries and ministerial agencies, within the scope of their duties and powers, shall manage and inspect land reclamation activities; promulgate, guide and inspect the implementation of regulations, technical regulations, standards and economic-technical norms related to land reclamation activities;

+ The People's Committees of first-level administrative divisions shall manage, allocate land, lease out land for land reclamation, inspect and examine land reclamation activities, and manage and use land reclamation areas in their divisions according to the law.

- The allocation of marine waters for the land reclamation purpose shall be carried out simultaneously with the allocation or lease of land for carrying out investment projects.

* Article 248 of the Land Law 2024 amends and supplements a number of articles of the Law on Forestry 2017.

(More details can be found in Land Law 2024)