Phu Quoc Island in the southern province of Kien Giang is facing the serious construction and land violations while a Government Inspectorate probe into land management in the province is underway.

The Government Inspectorate have recently announced a 70-day inspection on the land management and planning in Kien Giang Province, including Phu Quoc Island, following continual construction violations in the province.

Dozens of hectares of agricultural land in the island have been zoned for projects

By late 2017, Kien Giang Province’s inter-agency inspection taskforce found many houses in Phu Quoc built without a licence.

In the first three months of this year, up to 540 construction works were found to be built illegally in Phu Quoc Island. Authorities issued a total fine of VND318 million (USD14,454) for violators and four buildings were dismantled.

It is easy to see dozens of hectares of agricultural land in the island have been zoned for projects. Along Bung Goi Road in Cua Duong Commune are many projects which are being carried out on farming land. Lots of land plots besides the forest are being levelled for construction works. Investors have built roads without seeking local authority permission.

When being asked about these violations in Cua Duong Commune, Tran Van Viet, chairman of the commune, claimed to know nothing about the roads that had been built and had to date, forgotten to issue any fines.

Land speculation

People have rushed to buy land in Phu Quoc Island over prospects that the island would become the island administrative economic unit in the near future, pushing the land prices there up rapidly.

Land adverts can be seen throughout Phu Quoc

Most of the buyers are from big cities like HCM City and Hanoi.

Land adverts can be seen throughout Phu Quoc, with the price of a 1,000 square-metre land plot in a good location potentially tripling overnight.

At the centre of Dong Duong Town, land plots which are near the sea and suitable for building hotels and restaurants can be sold at around VND50 billion. Land on Tran Hung Dao Street has the highest prices which can be up to hundreds of billions of VND per 1,000 square metres.

Amid the land fever, authorities in Phu Quoc advised buyers to think carefully before making any land purchase decision, adding that many areas were included in the planning and might not be granted permits for building hotels or restaurants.