Tourism project crackdown ordered

The Ministry of Planning and Investment will carry out inspections of tourism and recreational-property projects in the central city of Da Nang and five other provinces to determine their feasibility, according to the Ministry's plan for this year.
The provinces of Thua Thien Hue, Khanh Hoa, Quang Ninh, Lam Dong and Binh Thuan, as well as Da Nang, are considered "hotspots" because many licensces have been issued for property developing projects.
But most of those projects, especially in Thua Thien Hue and Lam Dong, either remain on paper or have been delayed.
In the 2001-04 period, many investors quickly registered projects to occupy land, but construction has not begun.
According to the Chan May-Lang Co economic zone, 35 registered projects exist, but only nine are operating.
Projects still on paper include Lap An Resort and Golf Course, an infrastructure project for Sai Gon-Chan May Industrial and Non-Tariff Zone, and Bai Chuoi Tourism Area. They were issued licenses in the 2006-08 period.
Construction on some projects has been sparse. For example, the Diana Resort project was issued a license in 2007 but only the fence and watchman's house have been built.
A resort project along Lang Co beach worth US$4.8 million was issued a license in 2006, but only wave-breakers have been built since that time.
Nguyen Que, deputy head of management board of Chan May-Lang Co economic zone, said slow implementation and delays were caused by a lack of capital.
Moreover, because of the banks' high interest rate, the investors were reluctant to take out loans.
The People's Committee of the Central Highland province of Lam Dong said for the 2006-10 period, a total of 236 tourism and resort projects in Da Lat and the neighbouring region were registered, with registered capital totalling about VND46,500 billion ($2.3 billion).
Of those, 142 projects have been issued licenses, but only 65 projects have begun construction. Nineteen out of 65 projects have begun to operate.
For the Tuyen Lam Lake tourist zone alone, there are 30 registered projects with total investment capital of more than VND7,500 billion ($375 million). But only14 of that number are under construction. While the Ministry of Planning and Investment has asked local authorities to examine the feasibility of tourism property projects, the central province of Thua Thien-Hue has organised conferences to call for investment in tourism and resort projects.
They include the Hoi Dua resort tourist area covering an area of 100ha, a resort tourist area along the Dien Loc beach in Phong Dien District with an area of 200ha, and the Quang Cong – Quang Ngan eco-tourism area in Quang Dien District covering an area of 100ha.
Truong Van Thu, vice chairman of Lam Dong Province People's Committee, said inspections of these areas would help local authorities examine and review the construction progress of projects.
The province issued a list of key projects that seek investment for the 2010-20 period. One of those was the Prenn Lake tourist zone project with a large scale of 1,000ha.