The People’s Committee of Da Nang has issued an urgent directive to halt construction on the Capital Square 3 urban development project, following a dramatic sinkhole incident that engulfed two cars on Nguyen Cong Tru Street.

On December 4, the Da Nang government released an emergency notice addressing the sinkhole crisis, which occurred in An Hai Ward.

The city instructed SIH Real Estate Co., Ltd. - the project investor - and the contractor to immediately cease all construction activities related to Capital Square 3.

The investor has been ordered to urgently inspect the entire perimeter wall system and surrounding structural elements.

Key areas requiring examination include the intersection of Ngo Quyen and Nguyen Cong Tru Streets, as well as the medium-voltage power poles and traffic signal frames in the vicinity.

Authorities have given the investor a deadline of December 6 to submit a report to the Department of Construction detailing the cause of the incident and proposed remediation plans.

The Department of Construction and An Hai Ward’s local administration are tasked with monitoring the site, managing traffic around the area, and reporting the outcome to the city before December 7.

On the morning of December 4, inspection teams observed new surface cracks stretching for dozens of meters along Ngo Quyen Street, adjacent to the construction site. The widest fissure measured approximately 3 centimeters.

Preliminary technical assessments by the Department of Construction suggest the incident was caused by an open section in the underground retaining wall system.

Rainwater likely carried sand into the construction pit, hollowing out the foundation and causing the drainage pipes to break - ultimately leading to the street collapse.

The initial incident occurred at 2:10 p.m. on December 3, when a section of Nguyen Cong Tru Street suddenly gave way, creating a 15-meter-deep, 6-meter-wide sinkhole that swallowed two cars.