Vietnamese decry construction on borders of Unesco site Ha Long Bay: ‘killing everything’
- The construction site for a residential and hotel complex runs through the waters of Bai Tu Long Bay, which borders Ha Long
- The bay, famed for its turquoise waters dotted with towering rainforest-topped limestone islands, is one of Vietnam ’s most popular tourist destinations
A huge residential complex being built on the borders of Vietnam’s Ha Long Bay prompted a public outcry in the Southeast Asian country on Monday, as concerns mount over human impacts that have degraded the Unesco World Heritage site.
The shore and the surrounding town are already heavily developed. But on Sunday pictures were published in state media of an enormous construction site running through the waters – and next to the spectacular karsts – of Bai Tu Long Bay, which borders Ha Long.
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The project owner, Do Gia Capital Limited, is preparing the ground for a residential and hotel complex on an area of more than 318,000 square metres (3.4 million square feet), Tien Phong newspaper said.
The paper reported that the construction site is in Ha Long Bay’s “buffer zone”, which Unesco says provides an additional layer of protection to a World Heritage property.
Once finished, the complex will consist of 451 villas and houses, multiple seven-storey hotels, and service and trade areas, Tien Phong added.
Truong Quoc Binh, former deputy head of the culture ministry’s heritage department, said “the boundaries of Ha Long Bay had been seriously violated”, according to the paper.
