A section of the coast in Danang City. — VNA/VNS
DANANG (Vietnam News/Asia News Network): The central coast region's many restaurants, hotels, and resorts often occupy large areas of public space, which can be inconvenient for people who wish to swim or engage in community activities on the beach but do not wish to use the services of these establishments.
In Danang City, a lot of restaurants on Vo Nguen Giap Street and Truong Sa Street operate along the beach.
There are a few small spaces along the beach to serve people’s outdoor activities, the Quân đội Nhân dân (People’s Army) online newspaper reported.
In the central coastal province of Khanh Hoa’s Nha Trang City, Ana Mandara Resort, located on Tran Phu Street, was built in 1995.
By 2010, the provincial administration decided to reclaim more than 28,000sq m of non-agricultural production and business land and 10,000sq m of the sea surface from the resort to serve the community. However, the land and sea surface transfer has not been finished so far.
Moreover, many construction projects along the coast have been built in the coastal localities.
According to statistics from the Ministry of Construction, as of July 2022, 31 large-scale coastal construction projects totalling 9,800ha had been built in Khanh Hoa Province, and 147 projects totalling 4,358ha had been built in Bình Thuan Province.
Nguyen Chu Hoi, former deputy director general of Vietnam Administration of Seas and Islands, said the works, which occupy the public space along the coast, have existed for many reasons.
One of the main reasons is that managerial agencies in coastal cities still focus on exploiting the value of land and forget the value of the sea, which benefits the local community.
According to experts, public space plays an important role in social life. It is a measure of the quality of life as well as the liveability of a locality. Public space is freely accessible to everyone. For the locality with the sea, the public space is a tourist destination and a place for many cultural and artistic events, festivals, and community activities.
Since 2015, the Prime Minister issued a ban on licensing for coastal projects, especially emphasising that it needed to withdraw licences of the projects if necessary to keep the coast’s space clear.
Vo Nguyen Chưong, deputy director of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment Danang City, said since 2015, the city People's Committee has stopped to issue licences for coastal projects. At the same time, the People's Committee issued decisions to adjust planning for projects that use sand beaches and access to the sea.
Specifically, on July 5, 2018 the committee approved the recovery of the northern part of The Song project to open the entrance to the sea at the end of Minh Mạng Street so that people can easily go to the sea, he said.
The entrance to the sea, which is 10m wide and 271m long, with a total investment of VNĐ4.1 billion (US$174,600), was put into use on March 29, 2019, he said.
The committee also withdrew 10,397sq m from the two projects of Future Property Invest and The Nam Khang Resort Residences to build an entrance to the sea, plant trees, arrange equipment for fitness and entertainment, set up parking for bicycles and motorbikes, install traffic signs and paint crosswalks for local people and tourists, he said.
The entrance, which is 20.5m wide and 507m long with a total investment of VNĐ17.5 billion (US$745,400), was put into use in August 2020, he said.
Only a few enterprises obeyed the direction of the local administration. In reality, many hotels and restaurants occupy the public space along the coast and are still operating.
N.V.D, owner of an enterprise in Vĩinh Hoa Ward, Nha Trang City, Khanh Hoa Province, said if the interests of the parties are not resolved in harmony, it will be difficult to find a common voice.
Because managerial agencies have granted us business licences to use coastal land to do business for more than 20 years, he said.
We invested a lot of money to do business and always make full tax payments over the past time, he added.
“We need adequate compensation if the managerial agencies order us to remove to another suitable place according to the general policy to protect the public space along the coast,” he said.
