Over 2,000 square meters of prime land on Binh Minh Boulevard were 'forgotten'!

Wasteful and offensive.

Learn about urban renovation work in the West.Binh Minh StreetIn Cua Lo town, passing through Thu Thuy ward, it's strange to see a large plot of land, several thousand square meters in size, lying abandoned between the Maldives Hotel and the Agribank Cua Lo Hotel. This is unusual because, after the 209 restaurants on the beach were relocated, the western side of Binh Minh Boulevard became the prime business location in the coastal town of Cua Lo.

Stopping at the newly paved sidewalk in front of the property, one could see overgrown grass and bushes, along with a few dozen old coconut trees. In the middle of the plot, a winding path led deep inside. Following this path to the end of the property, there was a row of dilapidated single-story houses, half of their tiled roofs sagging and crumbling. In front of the houses was a cement courtyard, with makeshift shelters at both ends forming two car garages. Observing along the row of houses, there seemed to be about five to six rooms, mostly "sheltered" by greenery and enclosed with old, worn-out materials…

On the sidewalk in front of the property, only an elderly couple ran a refreshment stall. Stopping by for a drink, I asked them: "Why is such a beautiful place left abandoned?" The husband hesitated briefly, then replied succinctly: "It's been like this for a long time!"

Contacting Thu Thuy ward, Chairman Pham Thanh Hai explained that he had only been in office for a little over a year and therefore did not yet have a clear understanding of the land's "history." He only knew that the land was under the management and use of the Nghi Loc District People's Committee. However, it was essentially ownerless land.

This is because in 2023 and 2024, when Cua Lo town was preparing for the tourist season, Thu Thuy ward organized environmental sanitation and street beautification efforts. However, achieving good results requires the joint efforts of organizations and individuals operating hotels and restaurants. Therefore, every year the ward People's Committee sends notices to all organizations and individuals operating restaurants and hotels, including the Nghi Loc district People's Committee, requesting their participation in urban beautification for tourism purposes, following the guidance of the Cua Lo town People's Committee. Yet, for both years, the Nghi Loc district People's Committee has not responded or taken any action.

The land management unit was handling the situation in this way, while the land was covered with bushes and garbage, seriously affecting the urban landscape. Therefore, Thu Thuy ward had to hire an excavator and mobilize officials, staff, and youth union members to clear the bushes, remove garbage, and clean up the area.

Chairman of Thu Thuy Ward People's Committee, Pham Thanh Hai, complained: "Since coming here to work, I've heard that there used to be a nursing home for the elderly in this area belonging to the Nghi Loc District People's Committee, but it's been abandoned for a very long time. Every year, Thu Thuy Ward spends time cleaning it up, but after a while, the bushes grow back all over the place..."

Abandoned for 15 years!

To provide us with more information, the Chairman of the Thu Thuy Ward People's Committee, Pham Thanh Hai, arranged for us to meet with the ward's land management officer. However, this officer only gave a brief overview of the land plot, noting its 38m frontage along Binh Minh Boulevard, an average depth of 60m, and a total area of ​​over 2,200m2; and added that a family is currently living in the nursing home to look after and protect the property.

Thanks to the land administration officer of Thu Thuy ward, on the morning of August 19, 2024, we were able to meet and talk with the caretaker of the land. After some casual conversation, he explained that he is a local resident who works as an electric vehicle driver for tourists. About a dozen years ago, the Agricultural Bank of Cua Lo town, located next door, built a hotel and rented and used the row of single-story buildings of the nursing home. Once the hotel was completed, the Nghi Loc District People's Committee approached him with a contract to look after and protect the property. “I still have the contract at home. It’s called guarding and protecting, but the guesthouse is already in a state of disrepair…” he said.

Later that same day, thanks to the contract provided by the land caretaker and a few additional documents collected by Thu Thuy ward, everything regarding the Nghi Loc District Elderly Care Home became clearer.

Specifically, on June 8, 1996, the Nghi Loc District Elderly Care Home was granted a land use right certificate for an area of ​​2,475m2; the land was allocated and boundary markers were placed on June 24, 1996. By September 2005, the land area had been reduced to 2,230m2, as shown in the technical documents with a frontage of 38.17m along Binh Minh Boulevard.

The year 2004 marked the time when the Nghi Loc District Elderly Care Home was leased by the Agricultural Bank of Cua Lo town. According to the handover record between the Trade Union of the Nghi Loc District People's Committee Office and the Agricultural Bank of Cua Lo town, at that time, the home was a single-story building with 6 rooms (5 rooms); the property was old; the yard, fence, and outbuildings were dilapidated.

Regarding the need for security and supervision of the land, the "Economic Contract for the Protection of the Elderly Care Home in Cua Lo Town" between the Executive Committee of the Trade Union of the People's Council and People's Committee of Nghi Loc District and Mr. Nguyen Xuan Hoa, residing in Block 2, Thu Thuy Ward, Cua Lo Town, was established in 2009! It can be understood that from 2009 to the present, the Nghi Loc District Elderly Care Home has lost its intended function.

Given this situation, we request that the Thu Thuy Ward People's Committee take a stance. According to the Chairman of the Ward People's Committee, Pham Thanh Hai, the competent authorities should promptly consider and manage the land appropriately, and not prolong the situation of leaving the land abandoned, which causes waste and affects the urban landscape.

In discussions with several officials in Cua Lo town regarding the long-abandoned state of the Nghi Loc district's elderly care home on Binh Minh Boulevard, they agreed with the viewpoint of the Thu Thuy ward leaders. As Deputy Chairman of the Cua Lo Town People's Committee Nguyen Quang Tieu stated: “We will direct the Thu Thuy ward People's Committee to report specifically on the current state of the land and its management and use over the past years. Following that, we will submit a document requesting the Nghi Loc district People's Committee to consider and definitively resolve this issue…”