Procrastination in handling violations at the Pha Lai tourist spot.
For many years, local authorities have issued numerous documents requiring owners of floating restaurants on the Lai Ferry to cease operations and dismantle illegal structures... but these households have still not complied. In early 2025, Con Cuong district established an enforcement committee, but to date, the enforcement has not been carried out. Even the barriers erected by the authorities around the dam have been dismantled by someone.
They brazenly dismantled the barriers erected by the authorities.
In early April, when the tourist season begins, many tour groups flock to the floating restaurants.at Pha Lai DamLocated on the Giang River section passing through Mon Son commune (Con Cuong district), the floating restaurants are surrounded by numerous watercraft ready to serve tourists, despite the local authorities' suspension order.
Outside, the more than 100-meter-long corrugated iron fence erected by the authorities has just been dismantled, allowing restaurants to easily welcome customers. In July 2023, after repeatedly requesting the handover of the land and commitments to dismantle the illegal structures, but receiving no compliance from the owners of the floating rafts, the local authorities had to erect this fence. "This fence has just been dismantled, and the police are investigating the perpetrators," said Mr. Luong Van Hoa, Chairman of the People's Committee of Mon Son commune.
The handling of violations at Pha Lai has been at a standstill for many years, as the households have refused to comply with the local authorities' requests. Numerous solutions have been implemented, along with a series of dialogues between the leaders of the Con Cuong District People's Committee and the violating households, but the issue remains unresolved. By January 2025, the chaotic situation at the Pha Lai tourist spot seemed to be finally resolved when the Con Cuong District People's Committee established an enforcement committee. However, for some reason, three months have passed without enforcement being carried out, allowing the violating restaurants to become even more brazen.
“This time we will resolutely handle this matter completely. We will not allow the chaotic situation to continue. This tourist destination must be put into operation in a systematic and compliant manner. Since the beginning of January 2025, the People's Committee of Con Cuong District has issued decisions to enforce corrective measures against households occupying protected forest land and non-agricultural land, requiring the demolition of structures, restoration of the land to its original state before the violation, and the return of the occupied land within 15 days. However, these structures have still not been demolished. Therefore, the district has established an enforcement committee to develop plans,” said Mr. Tran Anh Tuan, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Con Cuong District.said 3 months ago.
Meanwhile, to develop tourism at the Pha Lai dam and bring the site into order, maximizing its inherent potential, since 2017, Con Cuong district has called on a business to invest with commitments to create favorable conditions. This business has developed a project and received approval from the Nghe An Provincial People's Committee for investment and land allocation. The business has been simultaneously constructing and operating... However, the aforementioned privately owned, spontaneously established floating restaurants have been operating on the land and water area already allocated to the business. This has forced the business to cease its service operations at this tourist spot.
This needs to be resolved quickly.
At the dialogue conference with tourism service businesses organized by the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism at the end of March 2025, representatives of the Nghe An Tourism Association also raised the issue of the chaotic situation at the Pha Lai tourist site.
According to the Tourism Association, after the investment plan and other related procedures were approved, the unauthorized floating rafts located at the Lai Ferry project's dock have continued to exist and operate increasingly extensively for many years, despite official orders from local authorities and relevant departments to suspend their operations. Disputes and conflicts have repeatedly occurred between the raft owners, affecting the ecological landscape, the tourism environment, and waterway safety. Over the years, numerous inter-agency inspection teams have concluded and demanded the cessation of operations of these illegal rafts at the Lai Ferry project.
Specifically, since June 2020, the provincial inter-agency inspection team has requested three families operating businesses on floating rafts in the Pha Lai tourist area to cease operations, and five other floating rafts that did not meet the operating requirements. By June 2022, the former Department of Transport issued a document stating, “Regarding floating rafts operating food and beverage services in the Pha Lai dam area, they are not inland waterway vessels as defined by regulations and are temporary structures not subject to legal regulations on design, technical safety inspection, and operation registration. We request the People's Committee of Con Cuong district to direct relevant authorities to suspend operations and develop a plan for dismantling and clearing them to ensure the safety of tourists in the Pha Lai dam area and on the Giang River.”
In June 2023, the People's Committee of Con Cuong District issued a notice requiring that "by July 10, 2023 at the latest, all owners of floating restaurants operating in the Pha Lai dam area must hand over the water surface area of the Pha Lai dam on the Giang River to the People's Committee of Con Cuong District. At the same time, it required those owners who had signed commitments to voluntarily dismantle all constructions, structures, materials, goods, machinery, equipment, etc., in the Pha Lai dam area before July 8, 2023. After this date, the People's Committee of the district would erect barriers to prevent residents and tourists from entering the area." However, these requirements were not complied with by the violating households. The authorities were forced to erect barriers, but still left small access points, allowing the floating restaurants to continue serving customers.
In December 2024, the People's Committee of Con Cuong District issued a document regarding the temporary suspension of tourist visits to the Pha Lai dam area and on the Giang River. The notice clearly stated that tourist visits, food and beverage services, and passenger transport by inland waterway in the Pha Lai dam area upstream of Khe Khang would be suspended from December 12, 2024, until further notice from the District People's Committee. The notice also mandated the dismantling of structures violating construction, land, resources, and environmental regulations, to be completed before December 20, 2024. Decisions were also issued to enforce corrective measures against the floating houses. However, the violating households once again failed to comply.
“Although there have been advances in handling violations by floating houses and issuing documents and decisions, the solutions of the Con Cuong District People's Committee remain on paper without actual action being taken to implement the proposed contents. Floating houses continue to operate vigorously despite the temporary suspension order,” said a representative of the Tourism Association, adding that through surveys and opinions from travel partners throughout the province, as well as tourists from near and far and tourist destinations operating in Con Cuong, it can be seen that tourism in Con Cuong in general has been stagnant in recent years, and the quantity and quality of tourism services have even decreased significantly. This is partly due to the impact of problems at the Pha Lai ecological tourist area, specifically the unresolved issue of ending the operation of unlicensed floating houses within the Pha Lai ecological tourist area, causing unstable operations.
Explaining why the enforcement committee has not yet been established despite a decision to do so three months ago, Mr. Tran Anh Tuan, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Con Cuong District, said that due to numerous personnel changes recently, the enforcement plan has not been implemented. "In April, after the personnel is reorganized, we will decide to proceed with the enforcement against the violations at this tourist site," Mr. Tuan said.
