Vietnam Nha Trang Yet to Have Final Decision on Encroachment Plan

Authorities of Vietnam’s south-central coastal city of Nha Trang have recently stated that that the plans to encroach Nha Trang are now just ideas and nothing has been done to the local environment and infrastructure. The authorities gave out the much waiting information at a conference to review socio-economic development in the first quarter of this year, with the main focus on the Nha Trang Bay encroachment project. According to Tran Van Tho, deputy head of Khanh Hoa Construction Department, the plans to encroach Nha Trang bay are ideas of a French and a Swiss expert. He noted that the provincial authorities want to encroach the bay to widen the area along Tran Phu street, which is believed to help make the area more attractive. Though the plan had met with obstruction in the past, Mr. Tho said that the provincial authorities had asked his agency to work on the issue and report back later. He noted that after coming up with a final plan, local authorities will need to collect comments from the residents before issuing a final decision. Earlier in 2015, Nha Trang authorities had suspended a multibillion-dollar resort project on a Nha Trang beach invested by Indian-invested Dewan International Vietnam on concerns of threats to the ecosystem. In addition, residents also feared that their beautiful beaches may disappear as modern construction works are being built by the sea. (Nguoi Lao Dong – Laborer Apr 20 P5, Thanh Nien – Young People Apr 20 P7)