In mid-August 2024, Binh Thuan province is entering the peak of the rainy season, which is also the time when thousands of people living in the coastal areas of Ham Tien - Mui Ne and Tien Thanh - Thuan Quy are worried because landslides from coastal projects can happen at any time.

Previously, at the end of May 2024, after a heavy rain, red sand on the high hill of the Sentosa Villa project (investor Saigon Investment Company Limited) suddenly poured down onto Huynh Thuc Khang Street (Phan Thiet City), blocking the road and overflowing 2 restaurants near the beach. The incident caused more than 350m of Huynh Thuc Khang Street to be covered with sand nearly 2m deep, 6 cars were buried in red sand, causing traffic congestion.

In 2021, a similar landslide also occurred from the GoldSand Hill Villa project down Huynh Thuc Khang Street, causing severe damage to a number of tourism businesses.

At the end of 2019, many people living in Tien Thanh commune, Phan Thiet city were also panicked when after a heavy rain, red sand from the Dai Duong Valley Tourist Area project (invested by Delta-Valley Binh Thuan Company) located on a high hill flowed down and covered an entire stretch of road.

According to the Department of Construction of Binh Thuan province, the cause of the above incidents is that the investors have not complied with safety regulations when implementing the project. The Department of Construction of Binh Thuan province said that the whole province has 380 tourism and resort real estate projects, of which 204 projects have been deployed and put into operation. Surveys on local coastal roads such as Ham Tien - Mui Ne, Tien Thanh - Thuan Quy showed that dozens of licensed real estate projects are located precariously on high hills. In response to the landslides that have occurred, the Department of Construction of Binh Thuan province has put 14 real estate projects on high hills on the warning list for landslides and sand spills onto residential areas and coastal roads. Of which, Phan Thiet city has 11 projects, the rest are in Tuy Phong, Bac Binh, and Ham Thuan Nam districts.

According to Mr. Phan Duong Cuong, Director of the Department of Construction of Binh Thuan province, to prevent possible landslides, the unit has requested project owners to establish a rapid incident response team at the construction site; prepare workers, machinery and equipment to respond. For the People's Committees of localities, it is necessary to regularly monitor and inspect construction activities at projects on sand dunes to urge and remind investors to strictly comply with the provisions of law in construction.

NGUYEN TIEN