Authorities in the central Vietnamese city of Da Nang spent US$1.26 million on building a driving range for two years, which has been left desolate since 2014 given a lack of equipment, a move that triggers many local residents to consider it a wasteful investment. 

>> An audio version of the story is available here Work started on the driving range on June 14, 2012 and it was completed and handed over to its developer, the Da Nang City Department of Culture, Sports, and Culture, on August 21, 2014, Nguyen Huu Hinh, head of the Da Nang City Management Board for Construction Projects, has told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper. But the driving range has still not been put into operation as it lacks equipment for playing golf, Hinh said, adding that a bid has just been opened to procure such equipment.

A driving range is an area where golfers can practice their golf swing. It is expected that the range will come on stream in April this year, Nguyen Phuc Linh, deputy director of the sports department, said.  The area is now covered with grass and many components of the facility have shown signs of damage and deterioration, as seen by Tuoi Tre reporters. The project, which was funded by the state coffers, was approved by the local People’s Committee in April 2012 and the Da Nang Infrastructure Construction and Development One-Member Co. Ltd. won a bid to build the driving range at an initially estimated cost of VND18.6 billion ($871,500). During the construction process, the capital was adjusted to top VND27 billion ($1.26 million). The driving range is part of the 19ha land that was earmarked in 2004 for another project to build a park. However, no park has ever been developed since. Therefore, many residents have wondered that while there are not enough playgrounds for young people, why the authorities turned part of the land into a facility that most locals do not need. Many have asked the same question, “For whom was the driving range built?”

They questioned that why the Da Nang authorities used the budget contributed by taxpayers to build a sporting facility that only serves a minority of wealthy people. Locals also pointed out that besides the driving range, the city also has another similar facility constructed by a foreign investor and it has suffered losses for a long time. P. H., who manages the foreign-invested range, said only 40-50 players, most of whom are rich people, use the facility per month. As a result, the driving range has made a loss over the past several years, H. said, adding that its owners want to sell it but have failed to seek a buyer. It is wasteful for authorities to spend taxpayers’ money building a driving range, as most locals have no demand for it, H. concluded. Asked by Tuoi Tre about whether the locally invested driving range can maintain its activities while its foreign-invested counterpart is going belly up, Linh, of the sports department, said on Monday, “The foreign range, invested by a South Korean firm, is for commercial goals only, while ours serves both business and training purposes. The country has organized many golf tournaments so if golfers in Da Nang want to take part in such contests, they need to have a driving range for practice, Linh explained.

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