The question “does the province or the central government decide land for my FDI project?” usually arises because two authority layers are mixed up: authority over the investment project (which has a central layer for large/special projects) and authority over land (which is almost always provincial). Separating these two layers correctly helps investors file at the right door and predict the roadmap accurately. This article clarifies land lease decision authority under Article 123 of the Land Law No. 31/2024/QH15 and where the central layer sits in the whole chain.
1. The land lease decision: provincial People’s Committee authority
Article 123(1) of the 2024 Land Law provides that the provincial People’s Committee decides land allocation, land leasing and land use purpose conversion permission for organisations — and a foreign-invested economic organisation is an organisation in this system. Practical consequence: however many billions of dollars the FDI project is worth, the land lease decision document is still signed by the Chairperson of the People’s Committee of the province where the land sits, on the basis of the appraisal file of the provincial natural resources and environment authority. The district-level People’s Committee (under the current two-tier local government model, district land authority has been restructured) does not decide leases for organisations; the commune level decides only for households and individuals in statutory cases. Investors therefore focus on a single provincial decision point — and the appraisal file quality of the Department (after the 2025 organisational rearrangement, the provincial natural resources and environment authority under each locality’s merged model) is the decisive factor for decision speed.
2. Where the central layer sits: investment policy, not the land decision
The central layer appears at the project stage, not the land stage. Under the Investment Law, special-scope projects (very large capital scale, projects with major environmental or defence-security impact, projects in sensitive localities per catalogue) require investment policy approval by the National Assembly or the Prime Minister instead of the provincial People’s Committee/investment registration authority. But even for those projects, once the centre approves the policy, the land lease decision is still issued by the provincial People’s Committee under Article 123 — the centre decides “whether this project happens”, the province decides “on what conditions this specific plot is allocated/leased”. Another central layer touching land is planning: national land use planning and provincial planning approved by competent levels are the frame provincial lease decisions must follow; a project deviating from approved planning is blocked at the demand appraisal stage (Article 122) even though no central body directly “rejects” the file.
3. Exception zones: economic zones, hi-tech zones and special land
Three zones change the practical working counterpart. First, economic zones and hi-tech zones: the Zone Management Board is authorised to perform certain investment and land procedures within the zone under separate rules — in-zone investors work mainly with the Management Board and sublease from the infrastructure investor, yet the root land document for the whole zone still originates from the provincial People’s Committee’s decision for the infrastructure investor. Second, projects involving defence/security land or sensitive border and island areas: the file needs opinions of competent defence/security bodies at the appraisal stage — an “opinion gate” that lengthens the roadmap rather than moving land decision authority to the centre. Third, projects of religious organisations and diplomatic missions (lease terms up to 99 years under Article 172 for diplomatic representations) have partly separate decision regimes — ordinary FDI investors are not in this group, but mixed projects with diplomatic components (e.g. a complex including a consulate) need authority separated by component.
4. Practical meaning: file at the right door and manage a two-layer roadmap
For investors, the operating lesson has three points. One, identify the project’s policy layer from the start: if the project is in Prime Minister/National Assembly policy-approval scope, the land roadmap only becomes meaningful after that milestone, and any land commitments with the locality before it should stay at non-binding in-principle level without specific plots. Two, time budgeting must separate two clocks: the central clock (policy, if any) runs on Government/National Assembly schedules and cannot be pressed by local relations; the provincial clock (demand appraisal — lease decision — contract — hand-over) is influenced by file quality and site-clearance progress. Three, working documents with the province should show correct authority understanding: applications and files go to the provincial People’s Committee via the natural resources authority; “land approval” requests sent straight to central ministries for an ordinary project will be referred back to the province, wasting time on both sides.
Frequently asked questions
Does a USD 2 billion FDI project need the Prime Minister to decide its land lease?
Not at the land stage. Large capital scale may put the project in Prime Minister (or National Assembly) investment-policy approval scope under the Investment Law, but the specific land lease decision is still issued by the People’s Committee of the province where the land sits under Article 123(1) of the 2024 Land Law. These are two different decisions at two different points of the project roadmap.
May an industrial park Management Board decide land leases for in-park projects?
Inside an industrial park, enterprises sublease land from the park infrastructure investor — the party the provincial People’s Committee has leased the whole park to under Article 202 of the 2024 Land Law. The park Management Board performs state-management functions and authorised in-park procedures (investment, labour, construction and certain land registration steps per delegation) but does not replace the province’s root lease decision. For economic/hi-tech zones, the Management Board’s delegated scope is broader under each zone’s own rules.
If the province refuses a lease on planning grounds, can the investor complain to the centre?
The investor may complain about land administrative decisions/acts under complaints law and file an administrative lawsuit at court under administrative procedure law. But if the refusal ground is non-conformity with land use planning approved by the competent level, the practically effective path is to work on planning adjustment/land use plan supplementation through the corresponding planning-approval authority, rather than expecting a central body to “order” the province to lease land against planning.
What extra step applies to an FDI project on defence-related land?
An extra gate: demand appraisal and project approval for a defence-security-related location must seek opinions of competent military/police bodies as prescribed, and certain locations are on an absolute-restriction list for foreign-element projects. Land lease decision authority remains with the provincial People’s Committee, but the defence opinion is a precondition — a file lacking it cannot be submitted for decision.
This article has been quality-reviewed by the FLAW AI Legal Council
