A local company has been caught building nearly 20 wooden houses without a permit at a famous national tourism site in Da Lat, a resort town in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong.

The Department of Construction in Lam Dong Province on Monday began necessary procedures to deal with the 19 illicit constructions at the Tuyen Lam Lake national tourism site.

The wooden houses, covering an area of 450 square meters, belong to the Hoang Gia Resort, whose developer is Da Lat-based Ly Khuong Investment JSC.

Each of the structures is about 24 square meters, built mainly of wood and having metal roofs.

According to the construction department, resorts are allowed to be established in certain sections within the Tuyen Lam Lake site.

The structures were built near the villas that belong to the Hoang Gia Resort. Photo: Tuoi Tre

The illicit constructions, however, are located only a few meters from the shoreline of the lake, which is marked as a protected area, thus violating regulations.

The developer of the resort also failed to present any document or building permit of the wooden cabins.

Competent authorities have made a report of the offense and required Ly Khuong Company to pull down the constructions in accordance with the law on cultural heritage.

This is not the first time the developer has been found breaking the rules.

The houses are located very close to the shoreline, an area that is marked as a protected section. Photo: Tuoi Tre

In early 2018, the company, without any permission from local authorities, filled part of the Tuyen Lam Lake with soil, which eventually impacted the conditions of a three-hectare area within the lake.

Located about seven kilometers from downtown Da Lat, Tuyen Lam Lake is one of the largest freshwater lakes in the city with an area of 320 hectares.

The destination was recognized as a national tourism site in January.

The lake is situated southeast of the Truc Lam Zen Monastery, another popular landmark of Da Lat which can easily be reached by cable car from the downtown area.

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