Billion-dollar project "shelved", wastewater "carelessly" overflows
Cua Viet Beach was established in 1997, with an area of about 5,000m2, attracting thousands of visitors every day, especially on weekends or holidays. In the initial planning, the beach land was divided into lots and assigned to 43 households providing food , beverage, and rest services... However, it is worth mentioning that facilities serving the essential needs of visitors such as toilets and public bathrooms were not located in the central area of the beach.
Cua Viet beach seen from above.
In 2014, the Tourism Promotion Information Center (under the former Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism) invested about 1.5 billion VND to build a public bathroom and toilet on an area of nearly 70 square meters. However, due to the lack of land in the central area, this project was forced to be located in the northern area of the beach, about 50 meters from the nearest restaurant.
The long distance, lack of signs, and inconvenience in use have caused this bathroom and toilet to fall into a state of being deserted. Less than a tourist season after completion, the project was abandoned, its doors locked. In 2024, this project was invested in for repair and upgrade, but as of July 5, 2025, it has not been handed over to the locality for operation.
There are no public toilets, so businesses build their own bathrooms and toilets within their premises. However, the worrying thing is that most of these structures do not have a proper wastewater treatment system. Bath water, domestic water and even wastewater are discharged directly onto the sand - where tourists sit to eat, drink and rest every day.
Tourists are upset, restaurant owners are helpless, and authorities are worried.
Talking to us, many tourists could not hide their disappointment. Ms. Nguyen Thi Hanh, a tourist from Hue City, shared: “We came here to enjoy the sea air, but it was really unpleasant to eat seafood and see wastewater flowing all over the sand. Although I know the restaurants are trying to serve, the way wastewater is treated is really unhygienic and offensive, affecting the experience of tourists.”
Meanwhile, a business owner at the beach (who asked to remain anonymous) also expressed his concern: “We also want a proper wastewater treatment system, but there is no common infrastructure here. Each shop doing it themselves would cost a lot of money, and we don’t know the technical process. We can only do it temporarily and then discharge it there. We don’t want to, but what can we do?”
Faced with this situation, local government leaders are also very concerned. Mr. Tran Dinh Cam, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Cua Viet Commune, said: "Previously, Cua Viet beach was managed by the Project Management Board, Land Fund Development and Industrial Cluster of Gio Linh District (old). From July 1, 2025, the beach was transferred to the commune for management. The beach area has not been expanded but the number of visitors is increasing."
When asked about the management plan in the coming time, Mr. Cam said: "In the near future, the commune will assign the Department of Culture to review and develop regulations to have a management plan. At the same time, coordinate with specialized departments and offices to implement necessary solutions to operate the beach effectively, improving the quality of service for tourists."
Not only wastewater, garbage is also discharged directly onto the sand.
Need a holistic vision and integrated solutions
The current situation at Cua Viet beach shows a lack of consistency in planning, investment and management. A public project worth billions of VND being abandoned while the environment is seriously polluted by spontaneous discharge is a waste of resources and directly affects the potential for sustainable tourism development in the locality.
In order for Cua Viet beach to truly exploit and develop its full potential, authorities at all levels need to have a comprehensive vision and synchronous solutions. In particular, it is necessary to urgently review the overall planning of the beach, prioritizing land funds for essential public infrastructure works such as standard bathrooms and toilets, conveniently located to serve tourists. There is a feasible plan to put the 1.5 billion VND public bathroom and toilet project into use, possibly renovating, relocating or building new works if necessary, ensuring that it is suitable for the needs and location.
In the long term, it is necessary to plan and invest in building a common wastewater collection and treatment system for the entire beach area or support businesses to build local treatment systems that meet standards and have a strict monitoring mechanism. At the same time, the Cua Viet commune government needs to quickly complete new management regulations, strengthen inspection and supervision of environmental sanitation, and strictly handle violations of waste discharge regulations. At the same time, mobilize and propagate to raise environmental protection awareness of both tourists and businesses, towards a civilized, clean and beautiful beach.
Cua Viet Beach has full potential to become one of the top tourist destinations in Quang Tri. However, if the shortcomings in infrastructure and environmental sanitation are not thoroughly resolved, Cua Viet will hardly be able to develop to its true value and the question of the “maturity” of local tourism will remain open.
Trung Linh
Source: https://baoquangtri.vn/bai-tam-cua-viet-nha-tam-nha-ve-sinh-tien-ti-bo-hoang-nuoc-thai-xa-thang-ra-bai-cat-195583.htm
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