Saigon Safari Park Project

Many violations at the 456-hectare Saigon Safari Park Project have been revealed.

Saigon Zoo and Botanical Garden Company were assigned as the project investor but the company doesn't have the capability to take on such a huge project. According to the inspectors, this was one of the reasons why the project failed to start and HCM City People's Committee should take responsibility for their decision.

Moreover, the city people's committee didn't follow proper procedures when carrying out ground clearance, compensating and transferring the land to Saigon Zoo and Botanical Garden Company in 2014. As a result, the issued resolutions lack required terms or have unsuitable rules, making the compensation costs increase by more than VND104bn (USD4.5m). However, the inspectors said there was no sign of corruption and the money was given to the right people.

After the city authorities selected a consultant company for the project, it took 13 years to plan the project and gain approval.

"This responsibility belongs to the city people's committee, Department of Planning and Investment, Department of Construction, Department of Transport and Department of Planning and Architecture," the inspectors wrote in the report.

The inspectors pointed out that the resettlement area construction hasn't even started even though the land has been abandoned for many years. Many people had filed complaints over the slow resettlement process.

The inspectors suggested that HCM City People's Committee must quickly deal with the resettlement problem, complete ground clearance and hold a public bid to choose the project investor in a transparent way.

Involved violators must be punished and public complaints should be dealt with quickly.

Dan Viet/Dtinews