Billion-VND project lying idle by the sea
Along the coast of Cua Viet and Ben Hai communes, Quang Tri province, many rows of restaurants and service kiosks at community beaches located in beautiful locations, once expected to create a new face for tourism, are now becoming a wasteful image.
These items belong to the Tourism Infrastructure Development Project to support comprehensive growth in the Greater Mekong Subregion phase 2 - Quang Tri Sub-project. The project has a total investment of more than 258 billion VND from ADB loans and counterpart funds. Component items include Cua Viet Tourist Port, Gio Hai beach, Cua Viet and Trung Giang beaches.
Items at the three beaches including the operating house, restaurant, service kiosk, electricity and water system... have been completed since 2024. However, after nearly 2 years, only Cua Viet Tourist Port has been operating since March 2025, while the beaches and auxiliary works are still closed.
Recorded at Gio Hai beach, many rows of restaurants are located close to the sea but there are no operators. Some items are degraded, mossy walls, damaged or stolen equipment. The green system is not cared for, many trees are dead and dry.
A similar situation occurs at Cua Viet and Trung Giang beaches. Cua Viet commune alone has 33 restaurants invested but not yet used. The slow exploitation of billion-dollar projects causes waste of public assets, loses tourism development opportunities and affects people's livelihoods.
Difficulties in receiving assets
According to the Quang Tri Provincial Construction Investment Project Management Board, Trung Giang, Gio Hai and Cua Viet beaches were accepted at the end of 2024. In March 2025, the Board handed over to the old Gio Linh District People's Committee. After implementing the two-level local government, the project continued to be handed over to the Cua Viet and Ben Hai Commune People's Committees. However, exploitation encountered obstacles due to having to develop a plan for using public assets, appraise prices, organize auctions or bidding. While waiting for procedures, the project continued to be left empty, with a higher risk of damage.
Mr. Truong Huu Hieu - Deputy Director of the Quang Tri Provincial Construction Investment Project Management Board - said that the unit has overcome many times, but the situation of theft and equipment damage still occurs. Currently, the Board is waiting for the locality to complete the auction to support small traders to recover assets; and at the same time request the contractor to replace dead trees according to warranty.
Mr. Le Van Thong - Chairman of Cua Viet Commune People's Committee - said that after July 1st, the local government at two levels operated, the commune inspected and recorded that the project was still messy. By April 1st, 2026, the commune will officially receive it and have sufficient management conditions. Immediately after receiving it, the locality appraises the price and develops a bidding plan to submit to competent authorities for approval.
It is expected that the auction will be completed on May 27 to put the project into use. However, the green trees died, some items were degraded, and the relevant unit has not handed over the keys.
The commune has mobilized hundreds of working days to clean up. It is still messy, hopefully the relevant units will fix it so that the auction is smooth, helping people to serve the tourist season in time" - Mr. Thong said.
The peak sea tourism season in Quang Tri is usually from April to July, if procedures are slow, the project is at risk of missing the 2026 sea tourism season and causing additional great waste.
