Resorts in protected bay to be axed

A view of Vân Đồn District in Bái Tử Long Bay. - VNA/VNS PHOTO Minh Đức

The violators will also face penalties this month, the district authorities said.

Bái Tử Long bay, located near the famous UNESCO World Heritage Site of Hạ Long Bay, was deemed largely uninhabited until recent media reports surfaced regarding construction of beachside resort-like facilities in the area.

Most of the violators illegally used forest land to build resorts, said a report submitted by the district authorities to the provincial Peopele’s Commitee earlier this month.

From 2012 to 2016, in the area near Vạ Giếng Temple in Thắng Lợi Commune, a local named Trần Quốc Dũng constructed a two-storey wooden house with total floor area of 80sq.m, a 100m long embankment as well as concrete roads and temporary lodging houses for construction workers. From 2016, he also constructed several other houses and bamboo huts.

On Soi Dâu Island, Phạm Thế Duy was given permission to hire forest land from 2009 with a tenure of 50 years, for forestry purposes only. However, it was found that Duy has illegally cleared forest land to build multi-storey houses, a courtyard and a dock. Enforced removal was supposed to take place back in 2012, however, due to "certain roadblocks," it has not been completed.

On the east side of Thẻ Vàng (Golden Ticket) Island, on the 180ha land currently managed by Tô Văn Chương, several constructions – including a ship dock, two houses, one temple, and a number of apartment houses – have been built since 2009. The violations were only discovered three years later.

Another case, Hoàng Trường JSC was granted permission to manage 126.4ha of forestland for forestry purposes from 1996. By 2016, the company was asked to demolish the new house built in the land without permission, but the company has still not abided with authorities’ order.

Đỗ Tờ JSC was allowed by local authorities to breed and farm mollusks on Bánh Sữa Islet of Bản Sen Commune, however, in recent times, it was discovered that the company has conducted tourism activities without permission from relevant authorities.

The report also pointed out that the owners of new buildings have shown “a lack of co-operation with authorities,” by not showing up to meetings or refusing to sign admissions of their offences, nor do they follow authorities’ orders to remove violating construction works.

The report also noted difficulties for authorities to carry out enforcement measures as the sites of violations are in remote locations, while the scale of the construction was large.