In recent years, the situation of land reclamation in Nha Trang Bay has occurred at various locations, impacting the landscape and marine ecological environment.
Unreturned Encroachments
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A corner of Nha Trang Bay at Chut Mountain Roundabout (Vinh Nguyen) has been reclaimed for residential development – Photo: Phan Song Ngan |
In the Rusalka project area at Bai Tien, located in Vinh Hoa Ward, north of Nha Trang Bay, besides the area of the sea and beach that has been allocated, the “investor” has also illegally encroached and reclaimed nearly 23,000 square meters of marine surface.
Last July, the People’s Committee of Khanh Hoa Province requested the restoration of the original state for 14,652 square meters of sea that had been filled. However, to this day, the province’s “order” has not been enforced as the “project owner” Nguyen Duc Chi is currently in prison.
In the nearby De Road area, over 30 hectares of marine surface have also been encroached upon by a partner of Nguyen Duc Chi (Rusalka), Lam Vien Company, in joint venture with Khanh Hoa Public Works Company, which has driven piles and filled in for a residential area project.
The Sông Lô area in the southern part of Nha Trang Bay has also been encroached and filled. Here, in addition to over 170 hectares allocated for the Sông Lô tourism and entertainment project, Khanh Hoa Province has also leased an additional 148 hectares of marine surface to Hoàn Cầu Company.
This company has unilaterally filled the sea with 30,000 square meters of land and dredged mud to extend the sea by approximately 20,000 square meters… However, since the Department of Natural Resources and Environment’s inspection discovered and penalized this “administrative violation” (July 2004), Nha Trang Bay has not been returned the lost marine area.
Too Much Loss!
Mr. Le Van Ke, former Chairman of the Khanh Hoa Provincial People’s Committee, stated: “From the French colonial period until before 1975, most streets in Nha Trang were designed by planners to be almost perpendicular to Nha Trang beach and diagonally oriented southeast from the sea inward throughout the city… This planning and design helped the sea breeze and fresh air from the ocean spread evenly to many residential areas far from the coast and deep within the city. In previous plans and practices, no high-rise buildings were permitted to emerge along the coastal road, which is the “front” of the entire Nha Trang city...”.
In the Chut Mountain Roundabout area, south of Cau Da, an entire area of Nha Trang Bay, over 56 hectares near the mouth of the Tac River (Quan Truong), is being completely filled to establish the Phu Quy residential area (nearly 80 hectares) with a population of 12,000 people.
The reclamation has affected the lives of many surrounding residents due to pollution. Additionally, according to the Nha Trang Port Authority, the area of the sea being filled is close to the flow and tidal current; only 300 to 1,000 meters away from the newly dredged shipping lane and the 20,000-ton wharf currently under construction at Nha Trang Port, which poses a risk of silting the ship channel and the port’s wharf.
Moreover, according to the leadership of the Nha Trang Bay Management Board, the situation of sea reclamation has created several threats to the ecosystems of the bay. Increased sedimentation will lead to the death of all coral in the bay and alter the current flow in the marine protected area… resulting in detrimental effects on both the landscape and marine environment.
The reclamation of the sea for tourism development projects is not only occurring along the coast but also extensively happening even outside the islands, within the Nha Trang Bay protected area.
A large marine ecological area in the Dam Gia region (belonging to Hon Tre) has been destroyed due to the project owner on the island dumping soil directly into the sea, burying all seagrass, coral, and other marine ecological values in the area, affecting a vast surrounding region…
A scientist noted: “Perhaps Nha Trang Bay has never been filled to such an extent and harmed as drastically as it is today.”
PHAN SÔNG NGÂN
