World Bank to Finance $150M for Vietnam’s Better Land Administration

The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors has approved a $150 million credit for the Vietnam Improved Land Governance and Database Project with an aim to better Vietnam’s land administration services. To be financed by the International Development Association (IDA), the World Bank Group’s concessional lending source for low-income countries, the project will develop a national Multi-Purpose Land Information System (MPLIS) and make a National Land Database available to both the government and the public. The project is designed with an emphasis on building sustainable databases that are accurate, user-friendly, and accessible through a gradual approach to developing Land Information Systems and land databases. It will help the government simplify procedures and business processes for Land Registration Offices operating at sub-national levels, provide better-quality land services, and increase public awareness of land information and land services. Vietnam’s regulatory framework governing land administration is now relatively advanced compared with other lower middle-income countries thanks to momentum gained in the land sector over the past 20 years, according to the World Bank’s Acting Country Director for Vietnam Achim Fock. “Yet, significant challenges remain, in particular the implementation on the ground. Therefore, we want to support the central and local governments, as well as all land users, with better access to land information and land services,” he said. (www.worldbank.org July 5)