Owners dismantle illegal villas in Phu Quoc

Le Quoc Anh, deputy chairman of the Kien Giang Province, on Tuesday said seven owners of the villas illegally built in Phu Quoc have had workers dismantle the buildings.

Some of the villas have yet to be completed before the dismantling.

The owners said they could collect usable materials and thus cut losses by dismantling the villas themselves, instead of leaving it to be done by the authorities.

An owner said he had spent VND5 billion ($210,770) to buy the land slot and build a villa on it, but did not realize that the construction was illegal. After authorities requested for the villa to be dismantled, he hired workers for dozens of millions of Vietnamese dong to dismantle the structures and salvage usable materials.

So far, over 20 villas, among 79 that were illegally built, have been dismantled along with their water and electrical systems, authorities said. At least 14 villa owners have also been fined, they added.

The 79 illegally built villas, each one spanning 200-350 m2, were built on 19 ha of public land from five years ago, when there was a land rush in Phu Quoc. Authorities at the time had requested violators to discuss the matter to find a solution, but many ignored the requests.

In 2022, the Kien Giang People’s Committee formed a team to deal with violations regarding public and forest land. So far, the team has dealt with and seized around 140 ha of forest land that have been illegally occupied. Over 40 structures that were illegally built at the Phu Quoc sea conservation areas, spanning 40,000 ha, have also been dismantled.