VietNamNet Bridge – The south central coastal province of Khanh Hoa’s Construction Department inspectors on Wednesday decided to suspend construction of the Hoang Phu residential area project (Nha Trang City) over suspicions it was partly to blame for a landslide that left 18 dead at the weekend.

The cause of landslide in Nha Trang City is suspected to be partly caused by the Hoang Cau project run by Thanh Chau Development and Investment Ltd.Co.—Photo: VNN

Chief of the office at the provincial Construction Department, Tran Van Chau said the Thanh Chau Development and Investment Ltd.Co-invested project was located facing the 2/4 Road, 5km north of Nha Trang centre.

At a hillside 60m heigh was the project’s ‘Green Hill – Hill fairy’ site, which was where the landslide occurred last weekend in Vinh Hoa Ward, Nha Trang City.

Construction inspectors asked the investor to report on the project’s operations to the department 

According to Tran Van Tho, the Construction Department’s deputy director, the project investor made a technical mistake in the design of the drainage system from the mountain peak to the mountain foot.

The drainage system was designed to pour water into the project’s residential living areas at the foot of the mountain, not into the project’s construction site.

Also according to the deputy director, the project has no construction licence. Since the project began in 2011, several residential quarters have been built. Currently, the investor is building entertainment works and housing areas on the hill.

“In 2011, approved projects under the 1/500 planning scheme were allowed to build urban areas without construction licences,” Tho said.

“By 2013, new regulations required projects obtain licences before constructing.”

Thọ said the Hoang Phu residential area project’s construction after 2013 was unauthorised.

According to Nguyen Truong Son, deputy head of the Viet Nam Disaster Management Authority under the Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control, the landslide-hit area around the foot of Rớ Mountain was a sparsely-populated area 10 years ago.

But now it was very crowded with many multi-storey houses, without correct flood drainage systems in place. When torrential rains hit the area, the flood drainage corridor was limited, causing serious consequences for residents, according to Son.

Nha Trang City authorities reported at present, two people are missing and 31 others injured due to the landslide.

Source: VNS