On August 16, the Party Standing Committee of Danang City held a review meeting with Ngu Hanh Son District's authorities after 10 years of development. 30 coastal tourism projects that cover 580 hectares of land and a total of VND26 trillion ($1.2 billion) in investment have been licenced since 2006.
However, local authorities admitted that many projects were affecting the environment and people's lives.
Abandoned projects
"The city leased the coastal lands for a term of 50 years for tourism projects or resorts but many investors haven't even started anything yet due to financial difficulties. I propose to withdraw licences that have been stagnant for years. For example Hoang Anh Gia Lai’s five-star resort project. The city should withdraw the land or make it available for public beaches," said Chinh, Ngu Hanh Son's party secretary.
Chairman of Danang City Huynh Duc Tho also agreed. He suggested to withdraw the land, build some residential areas by the sea and have more access to public beaches.
"We already have too many resorts, we must reconsider the plan and switch focus to community tourism," he said.
Beaches are being blocked from public access
Danang’s authorities said they were directing local authorities to withdraw licences for abandoned lands and asked agencies to urge investors to speeding up their work. Stagnant projects or those that didn't apply for extended deadlines will be halted and the lands will be reverted back to becoming public beaches.
According to Tran Van Son, director of Danang Department of Planning and Investment, the city has 14 projects that are behind schedule. The department has extended the implementation deadlines by two years. However, some project deadlines were extended to 2019 or 2021. Investors will have the land withdrawn if they fail to meet the deadline.
Stagnant projects that are hoarding huge amounts of coastal lands are not a new problem for Danang’s authorities. Last year, the city's former party secretary Tran Tho expressed concerns and said, "The heads of the agencies that have granted permits to stagnant projects and can't deal with this problem must take full responsibility. Why can't you deal with this? The People's Council filed a complaint and this is not a joke."
