No project approval has been announced, yet a groundbreaking date has already been set.
The Latest: On Sept. 28, state media reported that Mặt Trời (Sun) Real Estate Group Joint Stock Company, a Sun Group member company, submitted an application to Hà Nội’s Department of Finance to seek investment policy approval for the Ba Vì Ecotourism Complex, which includes a safari park.
Additionally, state media report that the project’s investment policy remains under review, with no approval document made public.
- Yet on Sept. 28, the Ba Vì commune government’s Facebook page announced that a groundbreaking ceremony for the Ba Vì Safari Park Complex would take place Oct. 10.
Project Details: According to reports, the proposal includes:
- A total area of 580.74 hectares, which includes 42.64 hectares of water
- A total investment of 10 trillion đồng (approximately US$385 million,) comprising 1.5 trillion đồng in equity and 8.5 trillion đồng in external financing
- Land use, which is divided into green space and water—446.89 hectares (76.95%); tourism services—43.88 hectares (7.56%); commerce and services—30.91 hectares (5.32%); and research, training, and entertainment—8.34 hectares (1.44%).
- Phase 1, scheduled from the fourth quarter of 2026 through the fourth quarter of 2028, would develop about 251 hectares with capacity for 5 million visits annually. Phase 2, scheduled from the fourth quarter of 2027 through the first quarter of 2030, would develop about 330 hectares, increasing annual capacity to 10 million visits.
- The project is located in Ba Vì Commune, Hà Nội.
Proposal Timeline: Sun Group’s proposal follows a series of changes in authority, made in 2026.
- On April 29, the government issued Resolution 115, transferring management of Ba Vì National Park from the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment to Hà Nội’s People’s Committee. The resolution puts the park’s area at more than 9,700 hectares, about 73.9% of it within Hà Nội.
- On June 15, the city’s People’s Council issued Resolution 46/2026 on strategic investors.
- On July 1, Capital Law 02/2026 took effect. Article 24, Clause 2, Point g authorizes the city’s People’s Council to regulate “the management, protection, exploitation, use, and sustainable development of all forest areas within the city.”
- On Sept. 28, Sun Group’s application for the 580-hectare project surfaced.
Within five months, Hà Nội’s People’s Committee had consolidated responsibility for managing Ba Vì’s special-use forest and reviewing investment policy approval under one body.
Sun Group’s Involvement: According to news reports, Sun Group proposes being selected under the “special circumstances” provisions of Capital Law 02/2026/QH16.
- In plain terms, it is asking to be chosen as the investor without competitive bidding.
The mechanism appears in Article 22, Clause 4 of Capital Law 02/2026, effective July 1, 2026:
The selection of investors to carry out projects and contractors to carry out bidding packages under projects specified in Article 3, Clause 4 of this law may use the procedure for selecting investors and contractors in special circumstances.
Under the usual process, a site is offered for multiple investors to submit applications, which authorities evaluate before selecting a winner.
- The special-circumstances mechanism skips this step.
- After an investor submits its qualifications, an interagency appraisal panel evaluates them, with final approval resting with the chair of the city’s People’s Committee.
Sun Group Precedent: Sun Group already has another project inside a national park, and a newspaper was subsequently penalized for publishing an investigation into it.
- The Tam Đảo II Ecotourism Resort, Conference and Entertainment Complex covers about 385 hectares within Tam Đảo National Park, with a total investment of roughly 10 trillion đồng. The project was transferred to Mặt Trời Tam Đảo Co. Ltd. in 2016.
- In 2019, the Phụ Nữ (Women) newspaper published an investigative series about the project. On May 28, 2020, the Press Authority fined the newspaper 55 million đồng and suspended its online publishing license for one month, citing the publication of false information.
- The series was subsequently removed from Phụ Nữ’s website.
From Affected Residents: : Residents of Ba Vì commune have expressed strong opposition to Sun Group’s proposed ecotourism complex.
On Sept. 25, Nguyễn Thị Xuân Quỳnh posted a petition on her personal Facebook page:
“[…] It took nearly 60 years and three generations to turn what was once wilderness into thriving villages, accessible roads, fruit-bearing orchards, and rice-producing fields—the peaceful countryside at the foot of Ba Vì mountain that exists today. That human effort created the landscape the project now sees and seeks to exploit. Today, just as the younger generations begin to enjoy the fruits of their forebears’ labor, they face the prospect of losing all their land, homes, gardens, and livelihoods. We believe the state’s earlier policies and today’s commitment to sustainable development would both oppose this outcome […].
On Sept. 29, the Threads account save.b*** wrote: “[…] Sun Group is holding a groundbreaking ritual without having held a residents’ meeting or sought residents’ opinions. At 8 p.m., they put up the tent; at 7 p.m., they announced the groundbreaking in the village’s Zalo group. Residents knew nothing about the plans beforehand. People have had to take turns keeping watch day and night to stop unfamiliar vehicles from entering.”
- Within four hours, the post had received more than 3,200 likes and 62,300 views.
On the same day, the account Huy Th*** posted: “Safari Ba Vì is all over the internet, yet we residents of Ba Vì commune—reportedly within the project’s planned area—still have not received any specific information from local authorities. We hope for a clear, transparent announcement soon so people can regain peace of mind and get on with their work and livelihoods.”
- Beneath the post, the account also shared photographs of residents lying on tarps outdoors at night.
Expert’s Perspective: Tiếng Dân, an online website, republished an analysis by Nguyễn Tuấn, an academic with a doctorate at Hasselt University in Belgium:
“[…] Tourism development can bring opportunities to Ba Vì, but it must be guided by sustainable development rather than prioritizing short-term economic interests. The proposed project promises large but uncertain short-term economic benefits based on unrealistic figures. Meanwhile, the losses to residents’ well-being, culture, biodiversity, and environmental quality are foreseeable, with a substantial risk of irreversible damage. A project covering nearly 600 hectares, seeking selection under a special mechanism and a groundbreaking just three months after its application was submitted, warrants more careful scrutiny, not faster processing.”
About the Location: Ba Vì National Park was established in 1991 under Decision 407, replacing the name Ba Vì National Protected Forest.
- According to the National Information Portal on Nature Conservation and Biodiversity, the park has three zones: a strictly protected zone at elevations of 400 meters and above, an ecological restoration zone below 400 meters, and an administrative and service zone.
The 580.74-hectare site’s location relative to Ba Vì National Park’s boundaries remains unclear, as does the park zone it would occupy if the two overlapped.
- It is also unknown how much of the site is forest land; whether that land is classified as special-use, protection, or production forest; how many households would face land acquisition; and what compensation and resettlement arrangements would apply.
The current Ba Vì Commune was established on July 1, 2025, under Resolution 1656, combining all of the former Ba Vì and Khánh Thượng Communes with most of Minh Quang Commune in the former Ba Vì District.
- According to Hà Nội Online, the commune covers 81.27 square kilometers and has 26,651 residents.
- It includes both core and buffer areas of Ba Vì National Park, and its residents are predominantly Mường and Dao.
- At 580.74 hectares out of the commune’s 8,127 hectares, the project would occupy about 7% of its total area.
Failure to Contact: As of Sept. 29, Luật Khoa Magazine had found no official statement from Hà Nội’s People’s Committee, the Department of Finance, Ba Vì National Park’s management board, Ba Vì Commune authorities, or Sun Group addressing the proposal and residents’ reactions.
- No member of the People’s Council or Hà Nội’s National Assembly delegation had spoken out.
Thành Phương wrote this news article in Vietnamese and published it in Luật Khoa Magazine on September 29, 2026. The Vietnamese Magazine translated it into English.
