Five months after a glitzy groundbreaking ceremony just outside Hanoi, the area where The Trump Organisation-branded US$1.5 billion luxury golf resort was unveiled remains just fields of banana and orange trees as angry farmers challenge the site’s clearance plans.
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The project in Vietnam’s Hung Yen province is facing land recovery delays as residents contest the amount of compensation being offered by local authorities.
It has been set at about 320,000 dong (US$12) per square metre (10 square feet) – equivalent to around one year’s income from the agricultural land for many of the farmers, plus rates that differ for varying plants and trees already there.
“It’s unreasonable that freshly planted crops can get a higher payment than trees that have been growing for 20 years,” said Do Thi Vung, who has spent more than 30 years cultivating land in the area. She is among hundreds of farmers who have petitioned authorities to at least double the compensation rate.
The resort, when finished, is set to feature five-star hotels, golf courses and residential estates spanning around 900 hectares (2,220 acres) along the Red River. The first phase is slated to be complete by late 2027, with the whole complex ready by 2029.
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