What happened to the gold tycoon's mansion on Hai Van mountain?

More surprisingly, the owner of this mansion is applying for a license to convert it into a tourist area.

Illegal construction remains in place for nearly a decade

Right at the southern foot of Hai Van Pass, turn left onto a small road, go about 500m more to reach the once-notorious illegal mansion of gold tycoon Ngo Van Quang (owner of a gold mining company in Quang Nam ).

Main gate of the illegal mansion of gold tycoon Ngo Van Quang.

The 1,400m2 villa is located in a beautiful location at Chim Chim hill, Nam Hai Van special-use forest (Hoa Hiep Bac ward, Lien Chieu district, Da Nang city). Surrounded by a solid concrete fence that has turned yellow and is moldy. The main gate and the side gate of the villa are always locked to prevent strangers from entering.

Inside this space, there are still some people living, taking care of the plants, raising fish and protecting the property that has not been dismantled or relocated.

According to observations by Giao thong Newspaper reporters, in addition to some items that have been demolished, there are still many valuable ornamental plants and wooden furniture. Some solid concrete houses still exist but are old due to lack of care and renovation for a long time. In front of the gate is a large Phuoc Loc Tho screen, painted in gold, still intact as it was 9 years ago.

According to research, this villa was built by Mr. Ngo Van Quang in about 5 years, worth more than 100 billion VND. In 2014, the government discovered that it was an illegal construction on special-use forest land.

In this unlicensed complex, there are 10 structures, including: three wooden houses with tiled roofs, one octagonal wooden house with tiled roofs, one brick house, three brick houses with tiled roofs, one hexagonal house with tiled roofs, and one main wooden gate.

On February 4, 2015, the People's Committee of Lien Chieu District issued an administrative penalty decision, requiring Mr. Ngo Van Quang to dismantle the illegal construction and return the forest land to its original state within 35 days. Mr. Quang dismantled a 15m2 house and filed a petition for help, asking to keep it as a spiritual tourism area.

After several extensions of enforcement, at the end of 2015, the People's Committee of Da Nang City decided to temporarily suspend the demolition pending the opinion of the Government Inspectorate. The Government Inspectorate then announced that the authority to handle the matter belonged to Da Nang. The People's Council of Da Nang City had issued a resolution requesting the government to handle the demolition of this villa complex.

On November 21, 2018, once again, the People's Committee of Lien Chieu District requested Mr. Ngo Van Quang to dismantle the illegally built villa. This time, the authorities set a deadline for the owner to complete the demolition before December 31, 2018. The People's Committee of Lien Chieu District also reported to the Da Nang City Party Committee about letting Mr. Quang dismantle it himself.

About 1km from Mr. Quang's illegal mansion, in Suoi Luong area, there was another mansion discovered to be built without permission by Major General Phan Nhu Thach - former Director of Quang Nam Provincial Police. After being invited to work and fined by the People's Committee of Lien Chieu District, General Thach's family had the illegal construction dismantled.

Meanwhile, more than 9 years have passed, but the project of gold tycoon Ngo Van Quang still has many concrete houses, fences, and solid gates, causing public opinion to raise many questions.

What will happen to the unlicensed mansion?

According to the People's Committee of Hoa Hiep Bac Ward, since 2018, after dismantling part of the illegal construction, Mr. Ngo Van Quang's villa still has many items. The local government said that there is currently a unit writing a plan to propose that the district and city lease the land for 50 years according to the Land Law for business purposes. However, how to handle it is up to the district and city.

Many structures in Mr. Quang's mansion still exist 9 years after the government requested their demolition.

Mr. Nguyen Dang Huy, Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Da Nang City, said that currently, Mr. Quang and his partner are submitting a project to the city to exploit tourism under the forest canopy and are being guided by the city's departments and agencies on how to do it in accordance with legal regulations.

According to lawyer Le Minh Huong, FDVN Law Firm, Ho Chi Minh City Bar Association, when applying for investment policy for a tourism project, businesses need to carry out many different steps according to the law. If it complies with the provisions of the law, the project can still be implemented.

Tourism investment projects in special-use forests and protective forests must have detailed plans at a scale of 1/500 to ensure that investment in construction of works (serving tourism activities) does not greatly affect the structure of the forest ecosystem.

At the same time, the project is subject to an environmental impact assessment report. The forest owner must develop an ecotourism, resort, and entertainment project in accordance with the approved sustainable forest management plan.

According to the lawyer, after that, individuals and organizations need to have their basic design, technical design, technical infrastructure, connection agreement, and fire safety approval approved. Apply for a construction permit, conduct acceptance, and put the project into operation according to regulations.

"Thus, carrying out administrative procedures to be able to implement a project and put it into business is a journey with many different stages. Project implementation needs to be licensed by competent authorities according to the law," said lawyer Huong.

However, according to a leader of Lien Chieu district, after checking, Mr. Quang's illegal construction is no longer in the three types of forest: special-use forest, protective forest, and production forest. Mr. Quang then submitted a request to cooperate with a company to turn this place into a tourist area.

Meanwhile, Mr. Nguyen Ha Bac, Secretary of Lien Chieu District Party Committee, said that the western ecological zoning plan (Hoa Hiep Bac ward) has been approved, with a specific land use structure and specific planning boundaries for three types of forests. The remaining area has been allocated for tourism land, commercial service land, and national defense and security.

"Based on this plan, all organizations and individuals can propose to competent authorities to consider and establish projects and business types in accordance with the zoning plan and land use plan for socio-economic development according to the city's goals and orientations and the Da Nang City plan to 2030, with a vision to 2050, which has been issued," Mr. Bac added.

Regarding the illegal villas built on Hai Van mountain, in 2015, the People's Committee of Lien Chieu district disciplined Mr. Tran Phuoc Huan (former Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Hoa Hiep Bac ward) with a reprimand and disciplined Mr. Nguyen Xuan Hoai (Captain of the Urban Regulation Inspection Team of Lien Chieu district) with a reprimand and extended the salary increase period by 6 months.

Source: https://www.baogiaothong.vn/biet-phu-tren-nui-hai-van-cua-dai-gia-vang-gio-ra-sao-192240229215820179.htm