The People’s Committee of Cam Pha City in Quang Ninh Province, northern Vietnam on Monday told the investor of a residential and hotel complex project designed to cover 31.8 hectares, including 3.88 hectares in the buffer zone of the UNESCO-recognized Ha Long Bay, to suspend it, as it was supposed to be a threat to the world heritage site and has prompted a public outcry.

The Quang Ninh Department of Natural Resources and Environment on Tuesday fined Do Gia Capital Co. Ltd., the investor of the project, VND125 million (US$5,114), a departmental leader told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper the same day.

A provincial team inspected the project on Monday afternoon and found that the company has sufficient licenses but it failed to publicize the environment impact assessment report of the project and build an embankment before pouring soil into the sea and dredging mud at the site where the soil was poured, causing the mud to spread widely.  

Earlier, Cam Pha chairman Nguyen Manh Cuong asked the city’s natural resources and environment division to coordinate with the urban management and culture-information divisions, the administration of Quang Hanh Ward, where the project has been developed, and relevant units to inspect the construction site.

They would then report the inspection results to the Cam Pha administration before Friday this week so that the latter can report the issue to the Quang Ninh authorities. 

The Cam Pha chairman also required the investor of the project to join hands with the city’s agencies during the handling of the issue.

A representative of the company told Tuoi Tre that it has put work on the project on hold and would cooperate closely with the relevant agencies to remove its shortcomings during the project’s execution.

The Quang Ninh administration green-lighted the residential and hotel complex project in 2021, with a price tag of over VND1.23 trillion ($50.3 million).

Once completed, the project will consist of 451 villas and houses, seven-story hotels, as well as service and trade areas.

The Ha Long Bay management board has reported signs of violations at the project to the provincial Department of Natural Resources and Environment and the Department of Culture and Sports as well as the Cam Pha People’s Committee.

In particular, the company directly poured soil into the sea in the buffer zone of Ha Long Bay without building an embankment, which causes water pollution, affects the ecosystem, and breaches regulations on environment and heritage protection, as stated in an environment impact assessment report approved by the provincial People’s Committee.

Therefore, the Ha Long Bay management board suggested the Department of Natural Resources and Environment, the Department of Culture and Sports, as well as the Cam Pha City authorities to tell the project’s investor and contractors to comply with regulations on environment and heritage protection and prevent the pollution of the environment and ecosystem in the bay.

Ha Long Bay measures over 1,550 square kilometers, with the UNESCO-recognized area being 434 square kilometers, including 775 islets.

The buffer zone of the bay, which is over 300 square kilometers, provides an additional layer of protection to the world heritage site.

According to the Quang Ninh People’s Committee, the buffer zone is too large, causing difficulties in managing, preserving, leveraging, and promoting Ha Long Bay and affecting the province’s socio-economic development strategies.

As a result, the province is drawing up a plan to scale down the buffer zone in order not to harm the value of the heritage while benefiting the local community.

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