Encroachment on Ha Long Bay buffer zone for urban development: Who is responsible?

Next week, the project to encroach on the buffer zone of Ha Long Bay to build an urban area will be thoroughly inspected.

Recently, many newspapers have reported on the threat to the World Natural Heritage of Ha Long Bay by the investor of the urban area project 10B, Quang Hanh Ward, Cam Pha City, Quang Ninh, dumping soil and rocks in the buffer zone, and surrounding the mountain with rocks to create a rockery. On November 8, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha signed an official dispatch assigning the Ministry of Construction to preside over and coordinate with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and the People's Committee of Quang Ninh province to inspect the press's reflection on the project to encroach on the buffer zone of Ha Long Bay to build an urban area, and report the results to the Prime Minister before November 25.

Many opinions expressed sadness when witnessing the buffer zone of the World Natural Heritage Ha Long Bay being "carved up".

On the afternoon of November 12, a representative of the Ministry of Construction said that next week, they will thoroughly implement the direction of Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha to promptly report the results to the Prime Minister on time. Most of the procedural work has been deployed to relevant ministries, branches and localities.

An official from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment said that the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report of the project encroaching on the buffer zone of Ha Long Bay was approved by the People's Committee of Quang Ninh province. According to their professional field, members of the inspection team of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment will likely focus on comprehensively reviewing the EIA of the project as well as comparing the actual situation on the ground. In addition, they will consider issues related to biodiversity conservation in the area planned for the project...

Project in "beauty queen" position but the State only collected 4 million VND/ ^m2 from auction

Professor Dang Hung Vo, former Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, said that he personally does not support and finds it difficult to understand why Quang Ninh province is planning urban areas that overlap with the buffer zone of Ha Long Bay.

"The World Natural Heritage Ha Long Bay is a national treasure recognized by the world. However, Quang Ninh province has approved an urban development project that overlaps with the protected buffer zone. Whether it is the buffer zone or the core zone, it still belongs to the national heritage, and the locality cannot arbitrarily encroach. If we are not careful, in the future, if the World Natural Heritage title is revoked, the consequences will be huge, who can bear the responsibility?", said Mr. Vo.

Mr. Vo said that the People's Committee of Quang Ninh province mentioned that it had reached an agreement with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on nearly 3.9 hectares of the 10B urban area project located in the protected buffer zone of Ha Long Bay. But recently, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism denied that there had been any agreement. Therefore, the interdisciplinary inspection team chaired by the Ministry of Construction, which includes representatives of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, cannot ignore this content, especially clarifying who is responsible.

In addition, Mr. Vo suggested that the inter-ministerial inspection team should re-examine the entire planning process of the 10B urban area project encroaching on the sea, including the protected buffer zone of the heritage, to see if it is in accordance with the law.

Urban area project 10B is nearly 32 hectares wide. Of which, nearly 3.9 hectares are located in the buffer zone of the World Natural Heritage Ha Long Bay.

"An extremely important issue that the inspection team led by Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha, chaired by the Ministry of Construction, in coordination with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and the People's Committee of Quang Ninh province, cannot ignore is to review and clarify the entire auction," Mr. Vo added.

To avoid losses for the State, it is necessary to carefully check all stages from project formation, document preparation, auction announcement, focusing on the basic factors to set the starting price of 1,145.3 billion VND? Is this starting price appropriate, which agency decides this price, and does it ensure the principle that the starting price must be equal to the market price?

In addition, the inspection team needs to review the process of issuing the auction invitation, how many organizations and individuals participated, were eliminated and won the bid to clearly conclude that there were negative factors, the green team and the red team so that Do Gia Capital Company Limited won the auction at 1,192 billion VND in 2021, just slightly higher than the starting price of nearly 47 billion VND. Calculating, in such a beautiful, unique and rare coastal urban location, the state only collected less than 4 million VND/ ^m2 .

In short, the inter-ministerial inspection team needs to thoroughly answer the questions: why was the starting price 1,145.3 billion VND? Why did the winning auction price only increase by nearly 47 billion VND to 1,192 billion VND? Are there any negative issues or collusion?", Mr. Vo raised the question.

Who is responsible for the buffer zone of the World Natural Heritage Ha Long Bay being filled to make an urban area?

As for the question: who is responsible for the 10B urban area project that encroaches on the buffer zone of Ha Long Bay? Mr. Vo said that this is a project developed by the State, located in Quang Ninh province, so the first responsibility belongs to the Quang Ninh Provincial People's Committee and the consulting departments and branches. Then, is there a role for the Provincial Standing Committee, and to what extent? In terms of individual roles, it is necessary to review who was the leader of the Provincial People's Committee, which departments and branches, and which officials participated in the project at that time... "It is one thing to bring it up, but whether the inspection team can clarify every detail is another matter," said Mr. Vo.

Close-up of an area where the project investor is filling in soil and rocks to create a flat surface

Mr. Nguyen Quoc Hiep, Chairman of the Vietnam Association of Construction Contractors (VACC), expressed his confidence that the inter-ministerial inspection team led by Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha will not miss any elements or details related to the project that threatens the national treasure, the World Natural Heritage Ha Long Bay.

"I believe that when the incident is widely reported by the press, social networks pay attention, public opinion is stirred up, and the Government has stepped in to direct clarification, all issues from the planning stage, auction organization, auction winning price, project implementation... will be clarified by the inter-ministerial and sectoral inspection team to truthfully report to the Prime Minister. Regardless of who is responsible, the ultimate goal is to properly protect the World Natural Heritage Ha Long Bay," said Mr. Hiep.

As an investor, Mr. Hiep said that, including the cost of winning the auction, which is less than 4 million VND/ ^m2 , and the costs of: leveling, building infrastructure, finishing the exterior of the house, etc.; calculating in combination with the construction density, the enterprise that wins the auction and develops the project has the potential to earn very high profits, thousands of billions of VND from the project. However, the State only earns less than 4 million VND/ ^m2 from the auction, so it needs to be reconsidered.

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