Head of Nha Trang Bay’s management board, Truong Kinh, said the body actually lacks management authority so they remain powerless to do anything about construction projects that are damaging the bay.
Truong Kinh
According to Kinh they warned the provincial authorities that the Nha Trang Sao project would cause damage to the environment. He said that there were other harmful projects being constructed in Nha Trang Bay including Focus Travel, Ana Marina but "the provincial people's committee didn't listen and didn't issue any regulations."
When being asked what he thought when the bay was being damaged, Kinh said people who approved the projects should answer this question. People could do things that affect the environment, but it has to be monitored, he said.
He went on to say that the board's function was to only act as consultant to the people's committee so the responsibility over the damaged bay must fall on the people who approved the projects. In addition, the board was not asked for its opinions on the Nha Trang Sao project. The project was evaluated by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.
"Whether the management board of Nha Trang Bay has the full authority and responsibility over the bay must be considered." Kinh said. "We raised the problem that those projects would cause problems at many meetings but it's never been dealt with. We’re supposedly the managers but we don't have the management authority."
Locals recently complained that Nha Trang Sao JSC were filling up 23,000 square metres of the bay for their entertainment park project. Ngo Van Dung, director of Nha Trang Sao JSC, claimed that they had dredged up allegedly dead coral and filled part of the bay with sand and rocks to create an artificial beach and this had already received official approval.
Nha Trang Sao JSC were filling up 23,000 square metres of the bay
It is also discovered that a tourism wharf project constructed by Focus Travel Company again had a significant impact on the bay but the construction work still continued.
