Movements around Danang University Village after 20 years of quiet

The layout of the Danang University Village project

Nguyen Quang Bay, an elderly man living in Ngu Hanh Son District’s Hoa Quy ward (at the project site), said, “I have been living here since I was a child, meaning I have spent nearly one third of my life waiting for the project to be realised, or my house be relocated for project’s execution, but there has been no progress. My house has been seriously degraded but I cannot repair or rebuild it because it belongs to the project area.”

Nguyen Be, another resident in the same ward, faces the same situation. Be’s one-floor house is in an even more critical condition as the ceiling leaks during rains and the building is seriously dilapidated but cannot be repaired or rebuilt.

“This situation has been standing for years now. This year, we intend to ask for permission to cover the roof with concrete to withstand the upcoming stormy season, but I am not sure whether my proposal will be approved,” he said.

Bay and Be’s concerns are shared by more than 500 households who are subject for relocation to free up land for the project.

In fact, the Danang University Village project, developed by Danang University, was approved by the government in 1997 to cover 300ha space and is worth more than VND8.6 trillion ($380 million) in total investment value.

190ha of this space will be in Dien Ban town’s Dien Ngoc ward in the central province of Quang Nam and the remaining 110ha in Ngu Hanh Son District’s Hoa Quy ward in Danang city.

After more than 20 years, only three components of the project were completed, including the Vietnam-Korea Friendship Information Technology College, the Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, and the Faculty of Information Technology and Communications.

Some of the main causes behind the project’s long delay are its sizable scope, which involves two localities (Quang Nam province and Danang city), diverse authorised agencies, and enormous investment value.

Ngo Van Duong, deputy director of Danang University, has recently informed that under the government’s instructions, Danang University is conducting procedures to revise the project’s planning to match the new situation.

Accordingly, the space in Danang city will be reduced to 90ha from the initial 110ha (the acquisition of 25ha has been completed so far). The city has worked out the land acquisition and people’s relocation plans.

The space in Quang Nam province will reduced to 160ha from the initial 190ha due to difficulties in relocating crowded residential areas.

The largest difficulties, however, are related to investment capital. Duong said that the government has green-lighted the project to use state capital sourced from the medium-term development fund to fast-track the implementation of site clearance, build basic infrastructure, and raise several urgent components.

These activities will be finished by 2020. Especially, Danang University was allowed to access a World Bank loan valued at about $100 million to expedite the project.

“Our university is working with the World Bank on borrowing capital. If receiving the World Bank’s approval, by 2020, we will receive the money to execute the project's main components. As for the capital sourced from the medium-term development fund, we have submitted the proposal to the Ministry of Planning and Investment which also needs to wait for the National Assembly’s approval. The project will be restarted right after we receive this important capital source,” Duong said.