Over 2,000 land-use violations found on Phu Quoc Island

After one year of looking into projects on Phu Quoc Island, inspectors of Kien Giang Province found that local authorities had enabled individuals and organizations to illegally use 200 hectares of public land and create 774 illicit projects.

They also found that 202 public land plots had been put up for sale illegally.

A total of 986 violations on 200 hectares of forest land were also listed.

Phu Quoc National Park is now being held accountable for "loosening management," and allowing locals to use up to 1,000 hectares of forest land for private purposes.

Top officials of An Thoi Ward have been identified to have leased 800 square meters of public land and pocketed the money. Other officials of the ward used 2,220 square meters of public land for their own purposes.

The Kien Giang inspectors have proposed higher authorities look into violations committed by 10 state agencies and 45 officials.

A top tourist destination in Vietnam, Phu Quoc spans 59,000 hectares and is home to 180,000 people.