A seafood company has been discovered backfilling some 5.3 hectares of sea along the coast of Kien Giang Province, in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta, for a construction without any consent from local authorities.

The construction of a seafood processing plant developed by Tien Trien Company is being undertaken over a 5.3 hectare piece of land that has been illegally created by backfilling the sea in Binh An Commune, Kien Luong District.

The factory is part of a larger project owned by Tien Trien which was approved by the Kien Giang People’s Committee in 2012.

The construction was initiated in 2014 after an environmental impact assessment (EIA) report was passed by local authorities.

The project’s name is “Tien Trien Company- Inland Port” and will be located along the Lung Lon Canal.

A security guard station is erected at the entrance to the venue for monitoring and in order to charge admission.

At the front of the facility is a port for tourist ships and speedboats to dock and receive passengers for excursions to nearby islands, along with a café and other facilities for travelers.

Further toward the coast is a car park and another seaport where fishing boats are located.

Behinds these venues is a large plot of land on which the seafood processing plant is being constructed.

According to the observation of Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper reporters on Sunday, the inland port was bustling with the activity of tourist buses and speedboats as well as fishing ships.

Drivers of tourist buses and cargo trucks said they all had to pay a fee to the guards in order to enter the venue.

A 2,300 square meter seafood processing plant under construction. Photo: Tuoi Tre

No permit

After spotting several violations, the Kien Giang Department of Planning and Investment has requested that the provincial People’s Committee carry out a comprehensive inspection of the project.

Results of the investigation revealed that a series of offenses had taken place on construction and investment as well as in the approved design of the construction.

The firm had backfilled the sea without any permission from local authorities to do so.

The Kien Giang administration had already allocated Tien Trien a seven hectare area for the plan.

Alongside the seafood processing plant and a 375 square meter tourist facility that had been put into operation, another 2,300 square meter factory is being built, all of which are without building permits.

Tran Huu Nghi, director of the provincial Department of Planning and Investment, confirmed that the company had not asked for any permission nor made an EIA report on the 5.3 hectare of land they filled along the coast.

Meanwhile, Nguyen Thanh Son, director of Tien Trien Company, stated that the firm had not mean to encroach on the sea area.

“We were so positive during the construction that we did not measure properly, resulting in the extra area,” he explained.

Speaking with Tuoi Tre on Monday evening, Mai Van Huynh, vice-chairman of the Kien Giang People’s Committee confirmed that the construction had ceased and an administrative fine had been imposed.

The firm will have to complete the necessary paperwork regarding their violations for local authorities to review, Huynh added.

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