Hon Nguu Aquarium Project in Vung Tau will be restarted after 4 years of suspension.

Ba Ria - Vung Tau province has just approved Vung Tau Cable Car Company to continue construction of the breakwater and site leveling project of the Hon Nguu Cable Car Station and Aquarium Service Cluster project after a 4-year suspension.

Had many violations

In October 2019, when the project to reclaim land to build an Aquarium in Hon Ngu, Ba Ria - Vung Tau began construction according to the adjusted project plan approved by the province in 2018 and the Department of Construction granted a construction permit in 2019, it raised many concerns from local people due to the impact on the marine environment as well as the right to access the natural seascape of tourists.

To build the Aquarium, the investor needs to fill in about 200 meters from the shore to the sea, with an area of about 3 hectares of land reclaimed from the sea. Photo: TN&MT

The reporting meeting of departments and branches with the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee of Ba Ria - Vung Tau province at the end of October 2019 on information surrounding this project determined that the investor of the Hon Nguu aquarium project, Vung Tau Cable Car Tourism Joint Stock Company (Vung Tau Cable Car Company), had many violations related to land and construction.

According to the report of Mr. Mai Trung Hung, Deputy Director of the Department of Construction of Ba Ria - Vung Tau province at that time, many works and items of the project did not have a license, including the leveling of 2 plots of land to build villas on Nui Lon without a license.

Regarding land, Mr. Le Ngoc Linh, Director of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Ba Ria - Vung Tau province at that time, also said that the province had leased 16.7 hectares of land to the investor for the project, of which nearly 12 hectares had not been granted documents. The Hon Nguu Cable Car Station and Aquarium Service Complex has 10 component projects, most of which are slow to implement. The part of the cable car station that is currently operating is an encroached area, violating the law.

Mr. Linh reported that at that time, Vung Tau Cable Car Company used an area of 1,848 m2 as encroachment to build a cable car station. However, at that time, this area had not been leased by the state according to the provisions of the law on land.

The province’s 2013 inspection conclusion also confirmed that Vung Tau Cable Car Company had illegally encroached, used, reclaimed and built this area. This area is outside the project boundary.

In addition, at the time of many scandals, Vung Tau Cable Car Company still owed a total of about 18 billion VND in land rent and late payment fees. This raised public concerns at that time about whether the investor had enough financial capacity to carry out the Aquarium project or just reclaimed the sea and left it there.

Perspective of Hon Nguu Aquarium Cable Car Station Service Cluster Project

In fact, according to reports from relevant authorities, the project has been many years behind schedule compared to its investment license.

With the series of violations at that time as mentioned above, the People's Committee of Ba Ria - Vung Tau province issued an official dispatch signed on October 15, 2019 requesting the investor of the Hon Nguu Cable Car Station - Aquarium Service Cluster project, Vung Tau Cable Car Company, to stop the sea reclamation construction.

Will restart in June 2024

Based on the proposal of the Department of Construction recently on May 10, the People's Committee of Ba Ria - Vung Tau province has issued an official dispatch approving Vung Tau Cable Car Company to continue implementing the construction of the breakwater and leveling project of the Hon Nguu Cable Car Station Service Cluster and Aquarium project according to the approved design and issued construction permit.

The content stated in the official dispatch of the People's Committee of Ba Ria - Vung Tau province sent to Vung Tau Cable Car Company clearly stated that the investor is required to send notice of time, plan, and construction measures for the competent authorities to know; at the same time, the assigned departments monitor and inspect the investor's construction to ensure compliance with regulations and environmental protection...

On the investor side, Mr. Dau The Anh, General Director of Vung Tau Cable Car Company, said that because the project has been suspended for more than 4 years, it is necessary to review and adjust the implementation plan to suit the actual situation. It is expected that in June, the company will complete the plan to continue construction of the project.

It is known that the Hon Nguu Cable Car Station Service Complex and Aquarium is a component project in the overall Ho May Park Tourism, Culture, Entertainment and Resort Area invested by Vung Tau Cable Car Company.

The project has a total estimated investment of 50 million USD (more than 1,100 billion VND) with a total area of 6.7 hectares, when completed it will serve 3,000 - 5,000 people per day. In addition to the 22-storey 5-star hotel, there is an aquarium, a sea sports area - beach, an artificial swimming pool, parking lot, trees...

To build the Aquarium, the investor needs to fill about 200 meters from the shore to the sea, with an encroachment area of about 3 hectares.

Source: https://baodautu.vn/du-an-thuy-cung-hon-nguu-vung-tau-se-duoc-tai-khoi-dong-sau-4-nam-tam-dung-d216201.html