The project of 100 resort villas 'eats' 12 hectares of forest in Nui Chua National Park

The project impacts 12 hectares of natural and planted forest.

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE) is currently consulting with the community on the environmental impact assessment (EIA) report for the Vinh Hy high-end resort project in Ninh Thuan province.

The Vinh Hy luxury resort is invested in by Syrena Vietnam Investment and Development Joint Stock Company (Syrena Vietnam Company). This project is expected to be built on land within the forest area managed by Nui Chua National Park, Vinh Hai commune, Ninh Hai district.

The project aims to lease forest land for investment in ecotourism and high-end resort businesses. This will benefit the investor and generate economic benefits for the State through tax revenue. The total investment for the project is approximately 1,600 billion VND.

A corner of Nui Chua National Park. (Photo: Huynh Van Truyen)

According to the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report, the land for the Vinh Hy Luxury Resort project is located in plot 5, sub-area 150, which is a special-use forest, under the administrative management of Nui Chua National Park.

Based on the revised detailed construction planning project at a scale of 1/500, the land area used for the project is 64.65 hectares and is divided into two investment phases.

In Phase 1, in addition to service and support facilities, the investor will build 54 resort villas with areas ranging from 150m2 to 450m2 per villa. Phase 2 will continue with the construction of an additional 46 villas with areas ranging from 250m2 to 1,500m2 per villa.

With a total area of 64.65 hectares, the investor will carry out land clearing and cleanup on an area of 12.9 hectares when the project is implemented.

Notably, of this 12.9 hectares, 12.78 hectares are designated as special-use forest managed by the Nui Chua National Park Management Board, and 0.12 hectares are outside the three-category forest plan and managed by Vinh Hai commune.

Regarding the 12.9 hectares of planned special-use forest, the current inventory shows 10.6 hectares of natural forest, 0.98 hectares of planted forest, and 1.32 hectares of land without forest cover.

With the project involving deforestation, the investor proposed a plan to pay for reforestation to replace the damaged forest area of 12.9 hectares.

21 households were affected, but only one received land compensation.

According to the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report, the investor will occupy 2.32 hectares of land belonging to 21 households in Vinh Hai commune, Ninh Hai district, during the implementation of the Vinh Hy Luxury Resort project.

Of these, one household has been granted a land use certificate, four households have stable land use history, ten households have been using the land since after 2003, and six households have been cultivating the land since 2010. These households are mainly Raglai ethnic minority people, primarily engaged in agriculture, forestry, and fishing.

Project location and its relationship to surrounding objects within Nui Chua National Park.

According to a report on the land origin review conducted by the Ninh Hai District People's Committee in March 2019, out of the total land area for the Vinh Hy High-Class Resort project, 11.7 hectares were used by the aforementioned 21 households for cashew cultivation. The review revealed that only one household had been granted a land certificate for an area of 8,000 square meters, while the remaining 20 households had not yet received certificates.

For households that have already been granted land use certificates, the Ninh Hai District People's Committee proposes that the Provincial People's Committee assign the investor to negotiate the transfer of land use rights and assets on the land in accordance with regulations.

With 20 households ineligible for land compensation, the Ninh Hai District People's Committee proposed considering measures to support land reclamation for 4 households and not providing compensation or support for land to 16 households.

According to VietNamNet 's investigation, in 2015, the Ninh Thuan Provincial People's Committee approved the investment plan for Syrena Vietnam Company as the investor of the Vinh Hy High-Class Resort project. This project's investment plan was adjusted twice, in 2017 and 2022, respectively.

To implement the project, Syrena Vietnam Company is in the process of converting 11.58 hectares of forest land to other uses. This includes 10.6 hectares of natural forest and 0.98 hectares of planted forest.

According to the latest revised investment policy decision, phase 1 of the project must be completed and put into operation within 24 months from June 2022.

Specifically, the investor must complete land, construction, environmental, and other related procedures to be eligible to commence construction within 10 months. The construction of 54 resort villas and other supporting facilities will be completed within 14 months.

After phase 1, the investor must complete phase 2 of the project and bring the entire project into operation within 12 months.

Regarding Nui Chua National Park, in April 2022, the Ninh Thuan Provincial People's Committee received the UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve recognition. With a total area of 106,646 hectares, including forests, sea, and semi-deserts, the core area of the Nui Chua World Biosphere Reserve is Nui Chua National Park.

Nui Chua National Park boasts a rich biodiversity of forests and marine life, with thousands of plant and animal species, including many rare ones. Besides Nui Chua, Vietnam has 10 other UNESCO-recognized World Biosphere Reserves.

Lam Dong province rejects project to plant 350 hectares of medicinal herbs on forest land . Following a proposal to approve the investment plan for Phu Dong Real Estate Company to plant medicinal herbs under the forest canopy, the Lam Dong Department of Planning and Investment was instructed to "seriously learn from this experience."

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