In Cam Pha, the combination of a stalled tourism project and continued coal mining activities raises serious questions about the feasibility of sustainable development.
In the north-eastern province of Quang Ninh in Vietnam, the dystopian coastal city of Cam Pha relies heavily still on the remnants of coal-mining industry established during the French colonial period (1887-1954) and includes a mega development project called the Green Dragon City that was abandoned during COVID.
Initiated by the TTP Group, Green Dragon City is a tourism and residential sea-reclaiming project that consists of a long boardwalk and hundreds of housing units along 100-hecatres of the Bai Tu Long Bay coast. Facing the picturesque view of the famous karst limestone formations, what remains are empty buildings and lots that have been reconquered by nature growing inside and around the infrastructure.
Surrounding Cam Pha are hills that are gradually being lowered and levelled by mountain-top mining; on the other side of the coastal mountains are more open-air coal mining pits that continue digging for the dirtiest energy source available on Earth. The tandem of the abandoned tourism project and the ongoing coal mining activities seriously challenges the concept of sustainable development.
