Aerial view of an illegally built hotel in Phu Quoc, Kien Giang. Photo by VnExpress/Duong Dong
An illegally built 12-story hotel in Phu Quoc that cost VND100 billion ($4.07 million) is being dismantled a year after its developers were fined for violating regulations in construction material.
Several workers and various machines could be seen Monday demolishing the top three floors of the hotel, located in the town of Phu Quoc on the resort island of the same name. The 12 floors of the hotel will ultimately be dismantled.
There were guards around the perimeters to provide security while the machines dismantled the structure. Vu Manh Hung, owner of the hotel, said around VND100 billion had been invested in the project.
It will likely take three months to dismantle the entire facility, at “high costs,” Hung said, although he did not elaborate.
The hotel was built on a 2,700 m2 plot of land on Tran Hung Dao Street. In August 2022, the main investor of the structure was fined more than 60 million VND for failing to build according to the approved plan, converting approximately 500 m2 of land intended for tree planting into non-agricultural land .
But at the time, the main investor only agreed to pay the fine and did not agree to dismantle the structure. In April 2023, the Phu Quoc People’s Committee developed a plan to dismantle the structure. Late last year, the main investor finally agreed to dismantle the structure itself. Authorities said the dismantling must be carried out before June 1, 2023.
An illegally built 12-story hotel in downtown Phu Quoc, Kien Giang. Video by VnExpress/Duong Dong
The 12-story hotel is one of several illegally built structures on the island. Several other illegally built villas and bungalows, which encroached on public land or conservation areas on the island, were also dismantled.
Phu Quoc, located off the southwest coast of Kien Giang province in the Mekong Delta, is a popular tourist destination that receives around 2 to 3 million visitors per year. In recent years, illegal construction has become a widespread problem in the region.
