Controversial project in Vietnam threatens paradise of popular tourist destination Ha Long Bay

Ha Long Bay’s forested limestone islets and aquamarine waters have long drawn tourists seeking a snippet of paradise, but this week pictures of diggers and shipping containers on a dusty construction site amid the striking karsts have provoked an escalating row in Vietnam.

The huge government-approved project has reignited debates about the threat mass tourism and overdevelopment pose to the Unesco World Heritage site and raised questions about lax environmental protections in the “buffer zone” surrounding Ha Long Bay.

Jutting out into Bai Tu Long Bay, which borders Ha Long, the 318,000 square metre development plans to feature 451 villas, several seven-storey hotels and other services for about 2,500 residents, the Tien Phong newspaper reported this week.

The project was approved by the province in 2021, after Do Gia Capital paid 1.2 trillion dong (£40.4 million) at auction for the rights to the site.

But photos in state media showing the scale of the development have proved controversial.

“The limestone karsts have been turned into the toys of the newly rich,” Nguyen Xuan Dien, a well-known historical researcher, wrote in a widely shared Facebook post, adding that the plans are a “direct threat” to the heritage site.

In the comments section of a story on VnExpress, one reader added: “This is truly destructive to the natural landscape. What are they thinking?”

Speaking to the Telegraph on Friday, a Unesco spokesman also “expressed concerns” and urged Vietnam to strengthen the legal protection status of the buffer zone to protect the region from threats including mass tourism, pollution and major new shipping lanes.

“The World Heritage Centre will reiterate its request to the state party to submit more updated information about the construction works, to understand the negative impact it could have on the integrity of the site,” the spokesman said, adding that the World Heritage Committee plans to examine conservation in the region in July next year.

Ha Long Bay – which literally translates as “descending dragon” – is one of Vietnam’s most popular attractions, with about seven million visitors last year.

The coastline and surrounding town are already heavily developed – Ha Long City now has a cable car, amusement park, luxury hotels and thousands of new homes.

Issues have been reported around the disposal of both human and plastic waste, while conservationists estimate that only about half of the 234 corals originally in the bay remain.

Yet not all locals see the increasing development as a negative – some say that it helps to boost the economy, improve infrastructure and enhance the quality of life.

“The environment needs to be protected, but the economy also needs to develop so that people have the opportunity to have a better living standard,” Huy Luu, 39, who lives about 2.5 miles away from the new construction site, told the Telegraph.

“My point of view is that development should not be prevented, but projects must be supervised by both the people and the government to ensure the project does not unduly affect the bay.”

Quang Bui, 37, who works at a local coal company, said: “People find life easier being near the tourist area, everything is better than before, especially … the infrastructure quality. Only with a development project can the land of people in the nearby area increase in value, which is positive, not negative.”

Yet officials have responded to a week of negative headlines in the communist country, where the media is tightly controlled, while outcry on social media reflects how much easier it has become for Vietnamese people to raise concerns online.

Truong Quoc Binh, the former deputy head of the Vietnamese culture ministry’s heritage department, said that “the boundaries of Ha Long Bay had been seriously violated”, according to Tien Phong.

Meanwhile, the country’s Ministry of Construction, in coordination with the environment and culture ministries and local authorities, has been ordered to investigate the development and report back to Pham Minh Chinh, the Vietnamese prime minister, before Nov 25.

In Quang Ninh province, which approved the project, local officials have also stressed that they won’t “attract investment at all costs” and promised not to trade environmental protections for economic growth.

The province has also fined Do Gia Capital 125 million dong (£4,200) for failing to comply with an approved environmental impact assessment, according to a statement on the Vietnamese government’s website.

The Telegraph has contacted Do Gia Capital for comment.