Project development pointers: Making the land acquisition process easier to manage

Public infrastructure is constructed to meet fundamental societal needs. Very often, it underpins ongoing economic development. It’s common, however, for some or all of the land on which a project will be constructed to be privately owned.

In such situations, the government entity responsible for progressing the project may seek to acquire the property or properties, or to obtain a specific form of tenure, such as an easement or right of way. This may occur via negotiation with the landowner or owners or via compulsory acquisition.

Land acquisition and the securing of specific tenure can be a protracted and expensive exercise and a highly charged one too, for both landowners and project teams. It can also be subject to intense scrutiny, particularly if the land has environmental and cultural significance.

Typically, a jurisdiction will have its own clearly defined acquisition process and following it to the letter can minimize controversy, conflict and legal challenges.

For project teams that don’t harness the power of technology, this can be a challenging proposition.

Managing a complex process in manual mode

That’s because the acquisition of land for public purposes, whether voluntary or compulsory, is complex. Contacting landowners and entering into negotiations to purchase their land, or commencing the statutory land acquisition process if agreement is unable to be reached, can be the work of many weeks and months.

Project personnel responsible for these activities must follow processes that are consistent, transparent, auditable and lawful. Fail to produce and preserve evidence that they’ve done so and the integrity of the process may rightly be called into question. 

That’s why it’s expected they’ll keep detailed, accurate records of their interactions with landowners, and record and track all documents produced and received which pertain to the land acquisition process.

It’s a given there’ll be plenty of them – notices of intention to resume, maps of the lots in question, written objections and objection reports, applications to acquire land, resumption notices, independent valuations, compensation offers and contracts for sale.

Data breaches in government agencies are on the rise around the world, for instance breaches are up by 10% in the Singaporean public sector. Consequently, securing this sensitive and confidential paperwork is critical. A data breach has the potential to damage the land acquisition process, the project to which it pertains and, potentially, the professional prospects of the personnel deemed to be at fault.

Unfortunately, in today’s times, the risk of one occurring is real and rising. It’s all too easy for data stored in legacy systems to be inadvertently forwarded to unauthorized parties or improperly accessed by hackers and cyber-criminals.

Tools to make the task easy

This is where technology can play a vital role. By helping project teams capture the scores of interactions, documents and document modifications that are part and parcel of land acquisition, it adds efficiency and rigor to the process.

Deploying a single, secure, online data repository that incorporates automated workflows makes it easy to track and manage the most protracted and complex of engagements with landowners.

Used as a single source of truth – a secure hub where all documents relating to land acquisition for their project are captured and stored – it allows public sector entities to maintain confidentiality and version control. 

They’re also better able to preserve the comprehensive audit trail stakeholders and taxpayers are entitled to expect when public funds are being used to compensate private individuals.

Deploying a virtual data room to streamline the land acquisition process

Given the benefits they can deliver, it’s easy to see why a growing number of public sector organizations are investing in virtual data rooms to help them navigate the complex business of acquiring land and property rights to progress their projects.

A virtual data room is a secure online space where confidential documents are stored and shared with authorized parties.

Virtual data rooms can help organizations mitigate risk more effectively by swapping manual and semi-manual document management and communication processes and practices for a secure, automated digital alternative.

Deploying one lays the groundwork for smoother and speedier land acquisition. It’s enabling technology that’s helping project teams around the world steer their infrastructure initiatives safely through the project development stage.

Laying the foundations for a successful project development journey

It’s easier to progress a major infrastructure initiative with the right tools. A virtual data room will support your team through the often complex and fraught process of land acquisition.

Select a solution that’s been developed by professionals with firsthand experience planning, procuring and overseeing major infrastructure initiatives and you’ll give them the best chance of capitalizing on the benefits this transformative technology can deliver.

If you’d like to learn more about how digital data rooms are helping government agencies implement smarter project development strategies, Ansarada is here to help. Contact our customer success team today.