Abandoned tourism projects a blight on Da Nang peninsula

Half-finished villas sit unfinished along Trem Beach on the Son Tra Peninsula. The area is a major tourist attraction for Da Nang.

Work started on the project in 2004. The area covers 14 hectares of land and 20 hectares of water with a beach stretching 1.3 kilometers.

Costing US$20 million at the time of groundbreaking, the project was comprised of 22 villas and a five-star hotel rising 18 floors as well as sports and entertainment facilities.

The project was stopped halfway after the Government Inspectorate found that Da Nang authorities had committed a series of violations in setting land prices and transferring land plots to the investor.

Some of the villas have not yet been roofed.

Inside the half-finished villas, many items have been damaged.

A steel girder that has become rusty.

A beach-side villa where the front yard has been damaged by coastal erosion.

Next to the half-finished villas is an abandoned resort.

Another resort is left unfinished on a hill near the famous Linh Ung Pagoda.

Inspectors said in 2019 after nearly two years of scrutiny that the Da Nang authorities had committed a series of violations in setting land prices and transferring land plots for 18 projects on the Son Tra Peninsula.

The peninsula, a major tourist attraction, has a natural forest that juts into the sea. The area is of great ecological and national security importance. However, Da Nang is yet to approve a plan for conservation and sustainable development of the nature reserve on the peninsula.

The central coastal city has not carried out an overall biodiversity survey and assessment, and has yet to prepare a report on the site’s current status. This can have a bearing on the management, protection and development of the area, inspectors said.

Another resort project that was suspended after a guard station was built and the fence set up.

A pavilion of an abandoned resort.

Aside from the 18 tourism projects that have been stopped, the peninsula now has 68 other projects to provide catering and other services for tourists that are also classified as illegal as they were built on natural forest land.

In March 2023, the Son Tra District People's Committee handled 10 projects, and plans to deal with the rest by 2025.

Son Tra, which covers more than 4,400 hectares, rises to 700 meters at its peak, acts as a natural shield for the city.