A series of violations in the construction project of dumping soil to surround the mountain to create a 'rockery' in Ha Long Bay

On November 6, the Quang Ninh provincial inter-sectoral committee had a working session on the inspection of feedback related to the construction of the urban area project at area 10B, Quang Hanh ward, Cam Pha city of Do Gia Capital Company Limited.

Attending the meeting were representatives of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment, Department of Construction, Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Ha Long Bay Management Board, Cam Pha City People's Committee, Quang Hanh Ward People's Committee and Do Gia Capital Company Limited.

The meeting aimed to verify and clarify press reports on the project of an urban area enclosing Ha Long Bay's rocky mountains into a "rockery", including reports that the project had leveled the ground and encroached on Ha Long Bay, affecting the water quality of the bay; dumping soil directly into the waters of Ha Long Bay without environmental protection solutions would cause environmental pollution...

At the time of inspection, the project owner was constructing a service road of about 100 km long. (Photo: PC)

Based on the results of the actual inspection and the opinions of relevant departments and branches, the inter-sectoral consensus is that the project owner has not properly implemented the contents of the environmental impact assessment (EIA) report approved by the People's Committee of Quang Ninh province in Decision No. 1614/QD-UBND dated June 15.

Specifically, the following measures have not been implemented: The inside of the service road and the cofferdam has a geotextile layer; dredging the mud underneath before construction; dredging the mud that rises during construction; implementing the entire cofferdam combined with treating the foundation of the surrounding embankments or segments for implementation, but must create closed areas to prevent mud from rising, rainwater from carrying mud and soil out to sea; periodically monitoring water quality, sediment, and biodiversity in the project implementation area and Ha Long Bay heritage site with a frequency of 3-6 months/time; publicly disclosing the EIA report at the ward and at the project.

Many containers were surrounded by the project owner outside a part of the service road to create a construction site for the embankment along Lo Phong stream (Photo: PC)

At the time of inspection, the investor had not yet presented the construction site and construction method documents, and had not yet reported to the People's Committee of Cam Pha City for consideration and approval according to the opinion of the Department of Construction stated on page 2 of Construction Permit No. 82/GPXD-SXD dated July 24, 2023. The project owner's construction diary was incomplete for the construction of the official road...

The interdisciplinary delegation requested the project owner to immediately stop all construction activities on the public service road leading to the project; immediately implement construction measures in accordance with the approved Environmental Impact Assessment Report; and seek opinions from competent authorities before resuming construction activities.

The investor must also hire a consulting unit with the function of re-evaluating the entire status of the mangrove forest; consulting with experts to assess the impact of the project to ensure the growth and development of the mangrove forest adjacent to the project; implementing the construction of the embankment combined with drainage lines before constructing the investment items; and implementing zoning before construction.

The inspection team requested the competent authority to draw up a record of administrative violations in the field of environmental protection for the two violations in the field of environmental protection that have been recorded above.

The inter-sectoral agency also requested the People's Committee of Cam Pha City to perform its state management responsibilities on construction and environmental protection according to regulations; the People's Committee of Quang Hanh Ward to supervise Do Gia Capital Company Limited to stop the above-mentioned activities violating environmental protection according to regulations.

At the end of the working session, Do Gia Capital Company Limited agreed with the conclusions and recommendations of the inspection team.

The inspection team pointed out many violations in the project construction of Do Gia Capital Company Limited. (Photo: PC)

Previously, the interdisciplinary inspection team had inspected the current construction status of the project. Accordingly, at the time of the field inspection, the project owner was constructing a public service road that coincided with routes 2, 3, 4, 5, 7... according to the planning approved in Decision No. 5099/QD-UBND dated September 16, 2021 of the People's Committee of Cam Pha City.

The total length of construction is about 1km. The construction material for the service road is loose stone, the road surface is covered with crushed stone, the outer edge of the road in some sections is reinforced with boulders, the rest of the project owner directly dumped soil without any measures to limit mud and soil from being washed into the marine environment.

Along the public road adjacent to Lo Phong stream, there is a phenomenon of soil and rock washing away, causing local turbidity (about 5m range) of the coastal seawater area.

At the end of the service road, the area adjacent to the rocky mountain, the phenomenon of dumping soil causing mudflow has not been treated yet.

The project owner used 10 containers (total length of about 200m) to surround a part of the service road to create a construction site for the embankment along Lo Phong stream. At the same time, the project is spreading a layer of geotextile fabric outside the service road at locations where containers have not been surrounded.

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/loat-sai-pham-thi-cong-du-an-do-dat-quay-nui-thanh-hon-non-bo-o-vinh-ha-long-2211632.html