VietNamNet Bridge - Residents in the coastal city of Nha Trang fear that their beautiful beaches may disappear as modern construction works are being built by the sea, spoiling  landscapes.

 

Residents in the coastal city of Nha Trang fear that their beautiful beaches may disappear as modern construction works are being built by the sea, spoiling  landscapes.

When reporters visited the site on December 18, they saw waters between Pham Van Dong Road and the Hon Do national tourist attraction point nearly filled up. 

Hundreds of coral blocks weighing several tons were excavated and then fille with rocks and soil. A section of water hundreds of meters long has been replaced with ground surface, covering an area of thousands of square meters.

According to residents in Vinh Tho Ward, in the past, the water edge was just 10-20 meters from Pham Van Dong Road. They parked their coracles there to go fishing later.

However, Nha Trang Sao, the company which is developing an amusement park project in the area, has poured soil and rocks into the waters, encroaching on the bay by 100 meters, eliminating the space for coracles.

What worries local residents most is that Hon Do Island, a very famous beautiful landscape nearby, could also be harmed.

“Hon Do was previously 500 meters from the shore. It looked so beautiful when the tide rose. But now the waters have been nearly filled up with rocks and soil,” said Bui Thi Khanh of Vinh Tho Ward.

“Hon Do was previously 500 meters from the shore. It looked so beautiful when the tide rose. But now the waters have been nearly filled up with rocks and soil,”  Bui Thi Khanh of Vinh Tho Ward.

When asked about the encroachment on Nha Trang Bay, Ngo Van Dung, managing director of Nha Trang Sao, the investor affirmed that the amusement park project the company is implementing does not comprise any items on filling up Nha Trang Bay.

Dung said the company poured soil and stones into the waters just to create a site for  implementation of the project’s items.

Regarding the excavation of coral blocks, Dung said this serves the work of turning the area into beaches.

Replying to reporters’ questions about which agency allowed the company to encroach on Nha Trang Bay, Dung said the project and the construction items have been licensed by the Ministries of Natural Resources and the Environment and Culture, Sports & Tourism.

However, Dung could not show the documents as requested and could not show the boundary on the water surface the company can use.

Also, according to local residents, a new restaurant which serves seafood has arisen within the project area.

Nguyen Thi Hoa, a woman from Vinh Tho Ward, said some months ago local residents lodged a petition protesting against encroachment on Nha Trang Bay, but no agency has come forward and settled the problem.