Do you know where is the most expensive land in Vientiane ? Check this out !

Many of us feel secure and warm in our jobs and everyday lives if we have some land we can call our own. According to regulations, a single Lao individual or household has the right to use no more than 3 hectares and a Lao or foreign individual has the right to rent or be granted a concession for State-owned land to practice agriculture or industry, offer services in tourist areas, reside, or to use as a playing field or other purpose for a period of 20-30 years at a minimum price of 5 dollars and a maximum price of 560 million kip per hectare per year. Such a rental or concession can be extended and in Special Economic Zones the period can exceed 70 years.

Currently, our country has a nationwide total of 6.28 million hectares available for economic development. Of this, 2.8 million hectares are for agriculture, 1.8 million are for forest production, and 1.68 million are for residential construction, industry, and business development. By 2015, the government will have issued 1,000,000 title deeds, which is expected to generate an income of 300 billion Therefore, those wishing to own land need to understand the policies and regulations involved with land development and importantly, to possess the necessary funds to purchase the rights for the land in question.

Many people may wonder how much longer it will take for all Lao nationals to own their own land, what factors are involved, and whether foreigners can buy property or become landowners.

In reality, all Lao nationals can use land and become landowners according to the law if they are not fussy about location. A number of experts, including Mr. Phothong Siliphong, a specialist in gender roles who played a part in researching the idea of issuing title deeds to individuals rather than heads of families in the Lao PDR, has expressed the view that it could take between two and four decades for all Lao nationals to own their own land provided by the State, which would take us all the way up to year 2030-2050. Isn’t this too long to wait for those hoping for their own little plot today or next year?

At present, if a Lao household has enough money and fulfills the requirements to own more than 3 hectares of land (for example, residents of Phonhong district may own up to 300 hectares for production and industrial tree plantations), and has capital of approximately five million US dollars, they may own property for a specific purpose in the Sihome commercial center but some people still have not even one square meter of their own land. But in reality, many cunning investors use a close Lao acquaintance to represent them, using their name on the deed instead, and search for land to sell at a profit.

The purchase of land for profit and real estate has increased as the property rental businesses tend to flourish into highly valuable assets. Currently, Lao people state land prices in foreign currencies. The most expensive land is in Sihome vilage, Chantabouly district, Vientiane city and can go for 3,000 US dollars per square meter. Land along Asean and T2 roads can fetch approximately 1,500 but in general, land in developed areas which already have access roads, water, and electricity tends to go for between 125,000 and 250,000 kip per square meter.

The relocation of labor and people can raise the price of land and make it highly sought after and this is on the increase. Therefore, those with money can become the owner of land in various ways and landowners can become rich. This is currently a prevalent cycle in the land market. An example of this is the owner of land in Dong Dok transferring the land use rights to a gold trader, who then invests in the construction of a two-storey house with five bedrooms. On completion, they divide the property into two rooms for the landowner and three rooms for the gold trader. Another case relates to the construction of the 450 Year Road, which improved the wellbeing of Mr. Xay, a regular property developer, by enriching him through land sales amounting to 16 million baht.

According to the Law on Land: The State promotes all economic sectors5 and society to contribute to land development by laying down policies, methods and different measures. We must accept, however, that in actual implementation, land issues are a hot issue among society, especially in the main cities. If there is no regulation or management to allocate land, there may well be problems in the future so I am writing this to bring it to the attention of all relevant sectors.

Posted by samakomlao on 11:57 PM. Filed under development, developments, Laos . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Feel free to leave a response