(Hanoi) The construction of a huge residential complex adjoining Ha Long Bay is causing an outcry in Vietnam, where the impact of human activity on this UNESCO-listed site is beginning to worry.
World famous for its gigantic limestone islets plunging into turquoise waters, the bay is one of Vietnam’s flagship destinations, with more than seven million visitors last year.
The nearby coast and town are already heavily developed, but on Sunday state media published photos of a massive construction site crossing Bai Tu Long Bay, which borders Ha Long Bay.
The Do Gia capital group’s project will occupy an area of 380,000 m2 i.e. 52 soccer fields and will host a residential and hotel complex, according to the newspaper Tien Phong.
The newspaper said the construction site is within the “buffer zone” of Ha Long Bay, which UNESCO says provides an extra layer of protection to a World Heritage property.
THINKSTOCK PHOTO
View of Ha Long Bay
Once completed, the complex will include 451 villas and houses, several seven-story hotels, as well as service and commercial areas.
“The boundaries of Ha Long Bay have been seriously violated,” Truong Quoc Binh, former deputy director of the Ministry of Culture’s heritage department, was quoted as saying by the newspaper.
In a Facebook message commented on and shared thousands of times, Nguyen Xuan Dien, a famous historian, described the project as a “direct threat” to the site.
“Limestone karsts have become toys for the nouveau riche,” he denounced.
“The sea and its sand are exploited. Beautiful places are sold at auction. We kill animals, we kill everything,” wrote prominent environmentalist Trang Nguyen on Facebook.
Faced with the outcry, the authorities of the province of Quang Ninh (North), where the site is located, first ordered an immediate review of the project on Monday before requesting the suspension of work, affirming that an investigation would be conducted into the area before November 10.
The plans were officially approved in 2021.
The rapid growth of Ha Long City, which now hosts a cable car, an amusement park, luxury hotels and thousands of new housing units, has severely damaged the bay’s ecosystem.
Conservationists estimate there were originally about 234 types of coral in the bay, but that number is now down to half.
Human and plastic waste also pose a huge problem.
The UNESCO office in Vietnam and the Ha Long Bay board did not immediately respond to AFP’s requests for comment.
State media have recently reported on several other construction projects threatening protected areas across Vietnam.