Forests to be removed for Vietnam road expansion

The provincial People’s Council on Friday passed a resolution to "convert" the use of forest land for traffic projects where certain sections of the 994 coastal road, which connects the province and Binh Thuan further north, will be expanded at the expense of dozens of hectares of forests.

Specifically, the road sections from the Long Phu intersection to the Ray River bridge in Dat Do District, and a road branch connecting with the 44B provincial road, will see 16.4 ha of "protective forests" destroyed.

The sections from the Ray River bridge to the Trung Thuy resort in Xuyen Moc District will have over 18 ha of protective and special-use forests torn down and paved over.

The coastal road, spanning 77 km, will be expanded to accommodate up to eight lanes.

The project is slated to cost over VND7 trillion ($275.1 million), according to authorities.

There are dozens of existing and ongoing tourism projects along the route, and once the expansion is completed, the road is expected to be a huge boost for the Tram Lake area to become a national tourism hub.

The conversion of 9.4 ha of protective forests would also help Ba Ria-Vung Tau to build the Long Son-Cai Mep road through Vung Tau City and Phu My Town.

The road would span 3.7 km with six lanes, costing VND1.189 trillion (US$46.7 million).