Tourism projects swarm central Vietnam seashore

Nearly 60 tourism projects are being implemented along a 30-kilometer stretch of seashore from the central city of Da Nang to Quang Nam Province, leaving locals with limited access to the public beach.

Vu Ngoc Hoang, the former secretary of Quang Nam’s Party Committee, once stressed that zoning for urban and tourism projects had to take into account the importance of retaining the village image.

However, local authorities have divided up the seashore into land lots reserved for tourism areas, resorts, and golf courses, and project construction is forcing many local residents to transfer their land to investors.

In a 10-kilometer stretch running from Furama tourism area in Da Nang City to Dien Ngoc Commune in Quang Nam, only three small public sea bathing areas remain.

Along the 20-kilometer-long seashore from Dien Ngoc to Hoi An Town in Quang Nam, public bathing places will be reduced once work begins on projects there.

The 30-kilometer section will host at least two golf courses and some practice courses covering more than 200 hectares.

A eighteen-hole golf course invested by Indochina Capital will open this year in Dien Ngoc.

Experts say that these golf courses will have to employ at least 300 tons of pesticides and millions of tons of chemical fertilizer to plant and protect grasses.

When correspondents asked local authorities about possible effects to the environment stemming from chemical usage, they gave the general response that local environmental protection agencies will oversee such issues as they arise. 

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