HCMC wants to dedicate outskirt farm land for urban development

The area belongs to Xuan Thoi Thuong Commune, and 200 hectares of it have been rented to a local firm following a contract until December next year for growing industrial crops, but they have not generated high economic efficiency, said the city.

The rest is still unused and now put under management of the district.

In Vietnam, major urban development adjustments need government's approval.

According to the city's plan, the function of this land could be adjusted from agricultural to non-agricultural use. 

Under the new function, it will be used to home a sports area, park and services to support hi-tech industrial park and startups, provide ecological urban area to offer housing areas for experts and high-tech workers working at industrial parks nearby, as well as serving the housing demand for city people.

The city said the conversion will increase the land use efficiency in Hoc Mon, allowing it to reduce population density and pressure for the inner-city area, as well as attract investment for urban development, which suits the demand for socio-economic development of the city.

The land lies next to major routes including the Ring Road No.3, a 90 km (56 miles) road allowing vehicles to travel to and from neighboring provinces like Binh Duong, Long An and Dong Nai without having to enter the inner city, making it an advantage for developing urban services.

Hoc Mon is one of five outlying districts with large agricultural land fund (2,200 hectares out of the total of 11,000) and home to 1,200 families.

The number of people working as farmers in the district, however, has kept falling. For every 100 households now, only 1.3 earn a living from farming, and the ratio is expected to drop to 0.6 percent in 2025 and 0.1 percent in 2030.