Villas were found to violate land use regulations in Haø Noäi’s Ba Vì District. The villas will be taken down due to the violations. — Photo baogiaothong.vn

HÀ NỘI (VNS) — Ba Vì District authorities have ordered Điền Viên Thôn resort to completely dismantle 17 villas by March 30 due to land use violations. Just days earlier, another resort was suspended for the same reason.  

The villas will be taken down by force if the resort fails to meet the deadline, Ba Vì People’s Committee Deputy Chairman Nguyễn Đình Dần said on Monday.

The half-built villas - plus 40 completed and furnished villas in Điền Viên Thôn resort - were constructed on 4.8 hectares of hilly land, of which only one hectare was granted a land use certificate. Điền Viên Thôn resort is in Yên Bài Commune about an hour’s drive from the centre of Hà Nội.

The rest of the land was originally owned by local tea and cassava farmers. Thăng Long Xanh Company bought the land to build a resort complex in 2012, Yên Bài People’s Committee Deputy Chairman Nguyễn Quốc Huy told Hà Nội mới (New Hà Nội) newspaper.

“The investor exploited agricultural land for the wrong purposes and developed the land illegally, without obtaining the necessary building permits,” he said.

A total of 57 villas were up for sale at prices ranging from VNĐ1.2 to VNĐ1.9 billion (US$53,330-$84,440). The resort also promised legal land use certificates to potential buyers.

The investigation of the alleged violations is still ongoing, according to Dan.

Điền Viên Thôn resort violations had been reported several times by Yên Bài authorities to higher authorities, including the Ba Vì People’s Committee, since January last year. According to Ba Vì People’s Committee Chairman Bạch Công Tiến, the inspection team’s head has been sick for a long time. This delayed the authorities’ official response to the Điền Viên Thôn case.

Another resort named Le Mont Bavi and Spa, within Ba Vi National Park, was also suspended from building early this month for lack of an appropriate license. — VNS