via Radio Free Asia, 14 November 2023: A controversial private residential project in Vietnam’s Ha Long Bay has raised concerns about its environmental impact and legality. The project involves creating man-made islands in Ha Long Bay’s buffer zone to build villas, hotels, and commercial facilities. Despite obtaining legal approvals from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and Quang Ninh’s provincial government, the project has faced criticism from environmental experts and former government officials.
Plans to construct a private residential project in Vietnam’s picturesque Ha Long Bay – famous for its islands and caves – has ignited concerns about its impact on the environment and debate about its legality.
In a 2021 land auction, Do Gia Capital Company Ltd. won the rights to develop a major hotel and residential complex within and around Ha Long Bay’s “buffer zone,” an area put in place by UNESCO in 1994 to protect the World Heritage Site.
Vietnam’s law on cultural heritage states that construction projects taking place within “protected zones of a national monument” must receive approval from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism – which the Do Gia Capital Company obtained. It also got permission from the Quang Ninh provincial government.
Source: Construction project in Ha Long Bay’s buffer zone ignites debate — Radio Free Asia
