Law

A moment of silence at the Samurai Nghi Thach project.

Nhat Lan • July 7, 2025 17:19

Right next to the entrance gate of Cua Lo ward and adjacent to Son market (Dong Loc commune), there is a large plot of land that has been abandoned and become a polluting waste dump. According to local residents, that land is where Samurai Co., Ltd. is carrying out its project…

Nhat Lan• 06/07/2025

Right next to the entrance gate of Cua Lo ward and adjacent to Son market (Dong Loc commune), there is a large plot of land that has been abandoned and become a polluting waste dump. According to local residents, that land is where Samurai Co., Ltd. is carrying out its project…

Visiting the location that residents of Nghi Thach (formerly) reported, I felt there was indeed something "strange" going on. The land, estimated to be several hectares, is in a prime location, bordering two major roads: National Highway 46 and Nguyen Sinh Cung Street. A walk around the area reveals numerous puddles and deep holes filled with stagnant water, overgrown with weeds and debris, and all kinds of garbage. Along the land bordering National Highway 46 and Nguyen Sinh Cung Street, there are scattered temporary structures operating food and beverage businesses; a few unfinished houses. Within the land, there are several internal roads. Some areas along these roads have been marked out with foundations and concrete fences; other areas are being used as construction material storage sites…

To the east of the land, adjacent to Son Market, there is a concrete road leading to a residential area. Upon inquiry, it was learned that this area belongs to Hamlet 2, formerly Nghi Thach Commune, now Dong Loc Commune. Regarding the "abandoned" land, according to local residents, it is the site of a project by Samurai Co., Ltd. However, the project has been stalled for many years. Occasionally, there is small-scale construction activity, but it is always suspended by the authorities, resulting in unfinished work. "The people are very upset because the abandoned land has become a dumping ground, causing environmental pollution. We only know that there is a project there, but we don't know what it is. If you want to find out more, you should contact the Hamlet 2 Committee…," a resident said.

Contacting the head of Hamlet 2, Ms. Nguyen Thi Le Na, she expressed her displeasure upon hearing about the land designated for the Samurai Co., Ltd. project. She stated that "for many years, the land has been left fallow, bringing no benefit to the hamlet, only negative consequences." During the conversation, Ms. Na explained that before the Samurai Co., Ltd. project, this land was agricultural land cultivated by residents of Nghi Thu ward (formerly Cua Lo town) and Nghi Thach commune (formerly). Regarding the current problematic situation on the land, Ms. Na said it has been ongoing for many years, causing great concern among officials and residents regarding land management. "The Samurai Co., Ltd. project was planned and approved by higher authorities, but the Hamlet 2 Steering Committee doesn't have specific details. However, the situation of the land being left fallow, leading to many negative impacts on the people of Hamlet 2, has persisted for many years…," Ms. Na explained.

The residents are most upset about the environmental pollution, as the land is not managed or developed by the investor. The land is right next to Son Market, and several households are operating informal businesses on it, making it difficult to manage waste and wastewater discharge. Environmental pollution is further exacerbated by the fact that the land is still under construction and the drainage infrastructure is incomplete, leading to stagnant wastewater, foul odors, and the presence of insects, flies, and mosquitoes. During the rainy season, dirty water overflows into the residential area, causing great hardship for households near the land.

Furthermore, security and order are also being affected, as most of the businesses on the land are not owned by local residents, making it impossible for the hamlet to manage them. “This land is nominally part of Hamlet 2, but it doesn't generate any value for the hamlet. Even the environmental sanitation fees, despite our notices to the businesses on the land and even direct meetings, cannot be collected. The reason is that they are not residents of the hamlet. They claim they bought the land as part of a project and therefore have the right to rent it out for business. A few days ago, we were informed by residents that the police arrested people here for gambling…,” Ms. Na said.

We asked Ms. Na to provide information about the construction activities that have taken place on the land. According to her, these are all illegal construction activities that have been going on for many years, and have all been inspected and suspended by the former Nghi Thach commune and Nghi Loc district authorities. “The houses on the land were built by Samurai Co., Ltd. and some individuals. This construction has been going on for a long time. Some unfinished foundations and fences were built by people who bought the land from Samurai Co., Ltd. a few years ago. We don't know the details of the land sale, but since the land use rights haven't been granted by the State, the Nghi Thach commune authorities have suspended the construction…”

According to Ms. Na, the Hamlet 2 Steering Committee has repeatedly petitioned the commune and district authorities, hoping that the State will implement the planned project to ensure stability; and if the investor does not carry out the project, the land should be reclaimed for another project, avoiding prolonged land waste and negative impacts on people's lives. Ms. Na said: “Representing the people of Hamlet 2, I have directly petitioned the Commune People's Council, the District People's Council, and even the Provincial People's Council representatives during meetings with constituents. This is a very valuable piece of land. If Samurai Co., Ltd. does not implement the project, the land should be reclaimed for another project suitable to the location of the land. We must not allow land waste, create negative consequences for the people, and cause concern and criticism in management…”

Based on the current situation on the land where Samurai Co., Ltd. is implementing its project, and the wishes of the officials and people of Hamlet 2, we have investigated and gathered some relevant documents. Among these, it shows that the Samurai Co., Ltd. project had previously been inspected and dealt with by the People's Committee of Nghi Thach Commune and the People's Committee of Nghi Loc District (formerly) for violations of construction regulations.

Specifically, on May 10, 2019, the People's Committee of Nghi Loc District issued Decision No. 4337/QD-XPHC imposing administrative penalties on Samurai Co., Ltd. for illegally converting non-agricultural land (not residential land) into residential land without permission from the competent state authority. Specifically, the company illegally constructed a level 4 house using brick and corrugated iron roofing, with a construction area of ​​240 square meters.²(20m long, 12m wide) at plot 252, map sheet number 1, Xuan Son hamlet, Nghi Thach commune). For this violation, Samurai Co., Ltd. was fined 15 million VND and ordered to demolish the entire level 4 house it had built to restore the land to its original condition before the violation; and was also required to return any illegal profits obtained from the violation. In Decision No. 4337/QD-XPHC, the People's Committee of Nghi Loc district emphasized: "Samurai Co., Ltd. must strictly comply with this penalty decision; failure to comply will result in enforcement action."

Most notably, there is Report No. 44/BC.UBND dated April 19, 2021, from the People's Committee of Nghi Thach Commune to the People's Committee of Nghi Loc District, following the discovery of unauthorized construction and illegal land use conversion at the Samurai Co., Ltd. project. Accordingly,nOn April 16, 2021, the People's Committee of Nghi Thach commune inspected and discovered that Mr. PKD had arbitrarily constructed a kiosk on a plot of land belonging to Samurai Co., Ltd. Specifically, he had dug a foundation around the edges and built a foundation using block bricks, measuring 6m in length, 0.4m in width, and 0.7m in depth. The People's Committee of Nghi Thach commune (formerly) proceeded to suspend construction, ordering Mr. PKD to stop building the kiosk and strictly prohibiting him from arbitrarily changing the land use purpose on the aforementioned plot. However, an ironic situation occurred. Mr. PKD claimed to have signed a contract and paid money to Samurai Co., Ltd. for the land transfer; therefore, he did not comply with the suspension decision of the People's Committee of Nghi Thach commune (formerly) and continued construction.

Due to this situation, in Report No. 44/BC.UBND dated April 19, 2021, the People's Committee of Nghi Thach commune proposed: "For a long time, the area within the Samurai enterprise's project has lacked management by the investor, causing it to become a dumping ground for waste. Many individuals and households have arbitrarily built houses, erected stalls and shops day and night, and stockpiled construction materials, encroaching on the traffic safety corridor. The entire project area is polluted, seriously affecting the environmental landscape of the commune, which is supposed to be a new rural area. The People's Committee of Nghi Thach commune contacted the project investor for a meeting and established an inspection team to handle the violations, drawing up a report to suspend the illegal construction. However, the households, citing that they had purchased land from Samurai enterprise (with complete purchase and sale documents), deliberately refused to comply and resisted stopping construction."

Because this land area belongs to the Samurai enterprise's project, and the project's implementation has spanned several periods, with relevant officials either transferred or retired, the records stored at the commune are no longer complete. Therefore, the People's Committee of Nghi Thach commune lacks sufficient grounds to handle the matter strictly in accordance with regulations. To strengthen land management in accordance with the Land Law, ensure fairness and stability in the area, and guarantee the strict enforcement of the law, the People's Committee of Nghi Thach commune respectfully requests the People's Committee of the district to provide guidance to help the People's Committee of Nghi Thach commune handle the violations at the Samurai enterprise's land plot…”.

At the end of June 2025, despite the urgent work of merging and streamlining the administrative apparatus to implement a two-tiered local government, responsible officials from Nghi Thach commune and Nghi Loc district took the time to discuss with reporters from Nghe An Newspaper and Radio and Television. During these discussions, they all confirmed that the Samurai Company's project had many shortcomings and was an environmental "black spot," as reflected by local residents and officials. They all expressed their hope that the issues at the Samurai Company's project would be thoroughly reviewed and resolved by the competent authorities.

As stated by Mr. Nguyen Dinh Hung – Chairman of the People's Committee of Nghi Thach commune (now the Standing Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of Dong Loc commune): “This project has many shortcomings. It leads to land waste, affects aesthetics, creates negative consequences for people in the area, and causes difficulties in management for the local government. We hope that the competent authorities will consider and resolve these issues completely…”