Phu Quoc dismantles more illegal villas on public land

They are among the 79 villas whose developers were found to violate public lands and build them without having any permits.

The villas began to be built five years ago when Phu Quoc property prices skyrocketed.

The developers reportedly took advantage of the social distancing restrictions during the pandemic in 2020 and 2021 to complete construction.

Each of the villas, all in Duong To Commune, has a floor area of 200-350 sq.m and is well equipped with water supply and electricity. They lie along a concrete road that is connected with the main street in the commune.

Phu Quoc authorities claim they summoned them several times to deliver warnings, but the developers ignored them.

In November last year, two of the villas were demolished and it took almost one year for more villas to be dismantled.

The illegal construction of the 79 villas had only been found after Kien Giang authorities deployed a team to inspect the encroachment of public and forest land on Phu Quoc Island back in early 2022.

The inspectors later discovered 2,300 cases of violation including illegal occupation of state and forest lands.

Nearly one year of inspection uncovered 744 violations related to use of public lands in Vietnam's largest island that led to illegal house construction on more than 200 hectares.

There were also 986 violations related to more than 200 ha of forest.

In August, Huynh Quang Hung, the island-city's chairman, received an official rebuke from inspectors of Kien Giang Province for violations related to land administration.

The inspectors also rebuked Tran Chien Thang, former vice chairman of Phu Quoc and now the province's chief inspector, and Truong Thanh Tan, former head of Phu Quoc's Natural Resources and Environment Department and now the island's chief inspector.