Proposal to reclaim 15.2 hectares of beach land previously allocated to Cua Lo Beach Golf Course.

Proposal for revocation

On August 8, 2022, the Provincial People's Committee issued Document No. 5983/UBND.CN regarding the implementation of the Golf Course, Hotel, and Villa Complex Project in Nghi Huong Ward, Cua Lo Town. Article 1 of the document directs the Provincial People's Committee to take the lead and coordinate with relevant departments and agencies, along with the Cua Lo Town People's Committee, to advise on adjusting the implementation schedule for the Golf Course, Hotel, and Villa Complex Project.Cua Lo Beach Golf Joint Stock Company.

The project includes a golf course, hotel, and villa complex in Cua Lo town. Photo: Thanh Cuong

On September 7, 2022, the Department of Planning and Investment issued Official Letter No. 3532/SKHĐT-DN requesting the Departments of Construction, Natural Resources and Environment, the Tax Department, and the People's Committee of Cua Lo town to provide opinions on the adjustment of the Investment Certificate for the Golf, Hotel, and Villa Complex Project in Cua Lo town. The Department of Planning and Investment emphasized in Official Letter No. 3532/SKHĐT-DN"Please state your agreement/disagreement regarding the schedule adjustment; the basis, conditions, and timeframe for allowing the adjustment.".

Following the directives of the Provincial People's Committee in Document No. 5983/UBND.CN and the Department of Planning and Investment's Official Letter No. 3532/SKHĐT-DN, the People's Committee of Cua Lo town conducted an on-site inspection of the investor's project implementation and provided the following comments in Official Letter No. 1504/UBND-ĐT:

"Agreement is granted to allow Cua Lo Beach Golf Joint Stock Company (the project investor) to amend the Investment Certificate for the Golf Course, Hotel and Villa Complex project in Cua Lo town, with the content of adjusting the project implementation schedule by an additional 24 months from the date of issuance. The amendment will be accepted if the project investor meets the following conditions:

- Return the 152,084.5m² area of ​​the forest park east of Binh Minh road, which was leased by the Provincial People's Committee under Decision No. 225/QD.UBND-DC dated June 22, 2009, to the Cua Lo Town People's Committee to develop a unified and integrated plan for the entire forest park east of Binh Minh road, in conjunction with the 1/500 scale detailed construction plan for the forest park east of Binh Minh road, which the town is currently developing.

The current status of the more than 15.2 hectares of beach area east of Binh Minh road that the People's Committee of Cua Lo town proposes to reclaim. Photo: Thanh Cuong.

- Demonstrate financial capacity and have allocated funds to implement the project according to the extended schedule.

- Develop a construction schedule for the remaining items of the project (especially the 40-story hotel at the intersection of Binh Minh Road and Vinh - Cua Lo Boulevard), commit to implementing it according to the schedule, and periodically report on the progress to the People's Committee of the town and relevant departments and agencies on a monthly, quarterly, and annual basis for monitoring and supervision.”

According to representatives of the Cua Lo Town People's Committee, the town has been striving to create a breakthrough in urban space transformation, aiming to achieve the goals set by the Provincial People's Committee in Decision No. 362/QD-UBND dated February 2, 2020, to develop Cua Lo beach to meet the requirements of being "modern, unique, distinctive, friendly, and highly economically efficient." Meanwhile, the golf course, hotel, and villa complex project of Cua Lo Beach Golf Joint Stock Company occupies a large area of ​​land and is located along many important roads in the town. Therefore, considering adjustments to the project's timeline requires careful consideration. Aware of this, before issuing Official Letter No. 1504/UBND-DT, the Town People's Committee reported the relevant issues at the October 27th meeting of the Town Party Committee Standing Committee for discussion and feedback.

The representative of the Cua Lo Town People's Committee said: "The Standing Committee of the Town Party Committee has discussed and agreed with the opinions of the Town People's Committee as stated in Document No. 1504/UBND-ĐT. The announcement of the conclusions of the meeting of the Standing Committee of the Town Party Committee also clearly reflects this content…".

Relevant, necessary

Regarding the golf course, hotel, and villa complex project in Cua Lo town, on October 30, 2022, Nghe An Newspaper published an article titled "What's in the Cua Lo Beach Golf Project?". This article described the current state of the sports and service area located east of Binh Minh road. The sports and service area was planned to be built along approximately 1km of beach, featuring a beautiful stretch of sand bordered by lush green casuarina trees. However, even after searching extensively, no trace of the so-called "sports and service area" can be found. The more than 15.2 hectares of beach are almost completely abandoned, with only a seawall, a few rudimentary walking paths, and a single restaurant whose construction scale is completely disproportionate to the name "Pearl Beach"!

On the land allocated for the beach amusement park, for many years, Cua Lo Beach Golf Joint Stock Company has only built the Bien Ngoc restaurant. Photo: Nhat Lan

Based on the relevant documents, in the detailed construction plan for the Golf Course, Hotel, and Resort Villa Complex in Cua Lo town (approved by the Provincial People's Committee in Decision No. 476/QD-UBND dated February 2, 2007), the beach area east of Binh Minh road, covering more than 15.2 hectares, will be transformed into a beach recreation area. Within the beach recreation area, the focus will be on green spaces and lawns combined with walking paths; a number of lightweight or concrete kiosks and refreshment restaurants will be provided, with a height of one story, a low building density of 5-9%, and water play facilities (Wondep Pack) will be located close to the beachfront. The Provincial People's Committee's requirements for the investor are as follows:"The organization must implement the investment in accordance with the approved construction plan; any violations will be held accountable according to current regulations."

On June 22, 2009, the Provincial People's Committee issued Decision No. 225/QD.UBND.DC regarding the lease of 152,084.5 m2 of land in Nghi Huong commune, Cua Lo town, to Cua Lo Beach Golf Joint Stock Company. On February 23, 2011, the Provincial People's Committee signed Contract No. 48/HD-TD, leasing the 152,084.5 m2 of land in Nghi Huong commune, Cua Lo town, to Cua Lo Beach Golf Joint Stock Company for a term of 50 years, until June 22, 2059.

Article 1 of Contract No. 48/HĐ-TĐ states: “The lessor grants the lessee the following terms: The leased land area is 152,084.5 m2 in Nghi Huong commune, Cua Lo town, Nghe An province, for use as protective forest land combined with eco-tourism business. Cua Lo Beach Golf Joint Stock Company is only permitted to use a maximum of 20% of the protective forest land area to construct facilities serving eco-tourism according to the plan approved by the Provincial People's Committee (Cua Lo Beach Golf Joint Stock Company is not allowed to construct permanent structures on this area, height restrictions apply, and the structure must not affect the environmental landscape; no fences are allowed to separate it from surrounding areas, allowing people to freely access the beach and enjoy public services).

Article 3 of Contract No. 48/HĐ-TĐ also contains a requirement."The use of the land on the leased plot must be consistent with the land use purposes stated in Article 1 of this Contract."

Cover art of the article "What's in the Cua Lo Beach Golf Project?" on Nghe An Newspaper's online edition. Photo: Nhat Lan

The information provided by the representative of the Cua Lo Town People's Committee is accurate. On October 28, 2022, the Cua Lo Town Party Committee issued Notice No. 22 - TB/ThU announcing the conclusions of the Standing Committee of the Town Party Committee at its October 2022 meeting. This notice indicates that the Standing Committee of the Cua Lo Town Party Committee discussed and agreed with the contents of Document No. 1504/UBND-ĐT of the Cua Lo Town People's Committee.

Based on the current status of the 15.2 hectares of beach land east of Binh Minh Road that the Provincial People's Committee has leased to Cua Lo Beach Golf Joint Stock Company, along with the terms in the relevant documents cited above, it is evident that the investor has violated the contract. Therefore, the proposal to consider revoking the 152,084.5 square meters of beach land previously allocated to Cua Lo Beach Golf Joint Stock Company to establish a unified and integrated plan for the entire forest park east of Binh Minh Road is entirely justified!