Hai Phong golf resort project rife with violations: government inspectorate

The Government Inspectorate says it has detected multiple violations in the conduct and management of the Song Gia golf-resort complex project in the northern port city of Hai Phong.

The detailed planning of the project, invested in by Hyundai E&C Vina Song Gia Co., was approved by municipal authorities in 2007. But the Government Inspectorate said in a release on December 1 that the golf course segment was not included in the city’s planning until 2020 per the Prime Minister's Decision 04/2001/QD-TTg.

Besides, the Hai Phong People’s Committee did not make, amend or approve plans in a timely manner, leading to the project’s investment certificate undergoing eight revisions.

The city's administration failed to push the delayed project's implementation or extend its timeline. The administration also failed to reclaim land for the project as prescribed under law.

Hyundai E&C Vina Song Gia Co., Ltd., a 100%-South Korea-invested company, failed to complete some segments of the project between 2013 and 2018, violating Article 64 of the Land Law 2013, the inspectorate said.

The 27-hole golf course, covering 103 hectares in Thuy Nguyen district, began construction in 2008 and opened in 2010. It was renamed Sono Belle Hai Phong in 2020 after management was transferred from Hyundai E&C Vina Song Gia to South Korea's Daemyung Sono Hotels & Resorts in 2020.

Regarding the five-star Pullman hotel project at No. 12 Tran Phu street, Ngo Quyen district, the Hai Phong People’s Committee was found to have not fixed land use fees at the inspection time and the investor Nhat Ha Co. Ltd. had yet to pay because it had not signed a land rent contract.

It was only in December 2018 that the committee issued a decision fixing land use fees, following which the municipal Department of Natural Resources and Environment signed a rent contract with the investor.

The construction of the 1,600-square meter project with total capital of VND1.6 trillion ($67.6 million) began in May 2018. It is designed to have 32 floors, a total floor area of 32,000 square meters, and accommodate up to 1,500 people.