Hung Yen golf course faces objections over historical relic impact

The Song Hong golf course project by Red River in Hung Yen province should be scrapped due to adverse effects on a local historical relic site, environment, and livelihoods, analysts said.

The project violates the Law on Cultural Heritage Protection as goes against the planning for embellishment and conservation of Chu Dong Tu Temple, said Nguyen Phuc Lai, former director of Hung Yen's Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

The temple venerates Saint Chu Dong Tu, honored as one of the immortals in traditional Vietnamese mythology, and his wife, Princess Tien Dung.

The project, proposed by Vietnamese company Song Hong Golf Investment JSC, is envisaged as an international standard 18-hole golf course covering almost 90 hectares across the three communes of Binh Minh, Da Trach, and Ham Tu in Khoai Chau district.

Lai is of the view that developing such a golf course would harm the temple site. “It will be difficult to recognize where the temple site is.”

He said such a huge plot of land allocated to a golf course would also negatively impact the livelihoods of local farmers.

"Fertile soil is for growing vegetables, flowers, and fruit to ensure income for thousands of local farmers. Meanwhile, the golf course would not create many jobs while contributing little to the local budget."

Each hectare of a golf course requires up to 1.5 tons of pesticides and 1.8 million cubic meters of water each year. Many years after a golf course stops operation, the poisoned land is still not suitable for cultivation. Moreover, various chemicals used for this project would penetrate the ground and run into Red River, according to the Vietnam Association for Conservation of Nature and Environment.

Nguyen Quang Thieu, president of the Vietnam Writers Association, told The Investor: "Economic development is essential for the country, but must be balanced with cultural values. It is also vital to preserving the historical, cultural, and environmental conservation values of relics. We will never be able to reconstruct these monuments once they are destroyed."

Thieu's opinion is in line with the national government’s stance, which seeks to preserve cultural values.

In the wake of the association's petition, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh asked Hung Yen leaders to evaluate the situation to ensure any decision about the project is in line with the laws.

Representatives from the Hung Yen Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism have planned a workshop on the project to comprehensively analyze its consequences on historical relics, social security, and the environment.