On Cat Ba Island in northern Vietnam, a huge project is underway to completely rebuild one of the picturesque bays. The investment is being carried out in the main city and involves filling in a significant part of the sea coast for new development. Photos showing the scale of the project and its significant impact on the environment can be shocking.
Cat Ba Island in Vietnam
Cat Ba serves as the administrative and economic centre of the Cat Hai district, which belongs to the city of Hai Phong. The area of approximately 336 hectares is home to basic public and port infrastructure, as well as facilities serving tourism and local fishing. The dynamic growth in the number of tourists in recent years has meant that the city needed more space. This has made the surrounding area an attractive prospect for developers, who wanted to squeeze even more out of this picturesque, intimate place.
Sun Group’s investment
The project known as Green Island or Xanh Island Cat Ba is being carried out by a private developer, the Vietnamese Sun Group. The authorities of Hai Phong City and Cat Hai District have approved the concept and issued the necessary decisions, while the financing and execution remain the responsibility of the investor. The project covers almost 50 hectares of new land, obtained by filling in the bay adjacent to the centre of Cat Ba. The entire investment is valued at 12,500 billion Vietnamese dong, or approximately PLN 1.69 billion.
Scale and pace of work
The new area was created by intensively filling the seabed. Sand was transported by ships from other locations and then distributed using heavy equipment. In addition, a mini concrete production plant operated on the construction site, which enabled the work to be carried out quickly. According to the schedule, the levelling of the terrain was completed in autumn 2024, while the technical infrastructure was built in early 2025. The next stages involve low-rise and high-rise buildings, which are to be completed by 2027. The first new buildings are already visible from the city centre.
Impact on Cat Ba Island
Despite the fact that the investment area is not formally located in the buffer zone of the Cat Ba Archipelago, which is inscribed on the UNESCO World Natural Heritage List, the scale of the interference with nature has raised serious concerns among experts. This type of coastal redevelopment leads to the permanent loss of marine habitats, changes in local hydrological conditions and deterioration of water quality. The transformations also affect the perception of Vietnam’s limestone islands, which are the region’s most valuable tourist resource. The investor’s declarations about full compliance with environmental standards are difficult to separate from the fact that the scope of these changes means an irreversible transformation of the natural environment around Cat Ba. The investment is currently at an advanced stage and looks set to deliver the expected results. A number of new hotels, green areas, a wide beach and modern infrastructure are already impressive. But at what cost?
Source: dantri.com.vn, smartrealtors.vn
See also: Architecture | Ecology | Metamorphosis | Urban planning | City | Vietnam
