Posted on March 24, 2025
A coastal protection project with an investment of 42 million euros (US$45.68 million) was launched this week to combat erosion and sustainably safeguard the coast of Hoi An City.
The project includes two main components. The first focuses on building infrastructure, including a nearly 4-kilometer-long wave-reduction dam stretching from the bridge to Cu Lao Cham, along the northern coastline to the Victoria Hotel. The embankment will feature a stepped design located 250 meters offshore, constructed with a rock foundation and precast concrete blocks on the outer layer.
A groin system, structures extending seaward from the shore, will also be built, measuring 1.7 kilometers in length and made of stone and concrete blocks. Once the dyke and groin are completed, sand will be added to create a beach approximately 60 meters wide.
The second component involves research and evaluation for the integrated management of coastal waters. It includes establishing a centralized data center, enhancing automated environmental and water quality monitoring systems, and developing tools for tracking resource exploitation in river and coastal areas.
Managed by the Quang Nam provincial authorities, the project’s funding includes a €35 million loan from the French Development Agency (AFD), €2 million in non-refundable aid from the European Union, and €5 million from the provincial budget. Completion is expected by 2026.
The construction is being carried out by a consortium comprising Lung Lo Construction Company, Dat Phuong Group Joint Stock Company, and Thanh Tien Co., Ltd. Dat Phuong Group has previous experience in erosion control projects along the Hoi An coast.
At the groundbreaking ceremony on Thursday, Quang Nam Chairman Ho Quang Buu emphasized the project’s goal: to protect land, homes, assets, and the lives of around 1,300 families, as well as critical tourism infrastructure along a 3.2-kilometer stretch of Cua Dai Ward’s coastline. The project aims to minimize erosion and support socio-economic development in Hoi An and the broader Quang Nam Province.
Hoi An’s coastline spans 7.5 kilometers and includes well-known beaches such as Cua Dai, Thinh My, and An Bang. Cua Dai Beach was ranked 18th in the “Top 25 Beaches in Asia” by TripAdvisor’s Travelers’ Choice Awards and named one of Asia’s 20 best beaches by Travel2Next in 2022. However, since 2000, the beach has experienced continuous erosion, in some areas reaching as far as 100 meters inland.
Between 2010 and 2015, Quang Nam invested more than VND140 billion (US$5.46 million) in various protection efforts, including an 850-meter-long slanted concrete embankment, a 415-meter-long geo bag embankment, and a geotextile bag embankment over one kilometer long. However, these efforts proved largely ineffective, and erosion persisted.
Cua Dai Beach is eroded in October 2020.
In June 2020, the province constructed a 220-meter underground dyke, located 250 meters from shore and rising half a meter below sea level. The dyke was 4.5 meters high, 12 meters wide, and cost VND40 billion, but lacked funding for expansion.
Later, Quang Nam implemented two projects to build over 2 kilometers of underground dykes and pumped 600 cubic meters of sand into the area, with a total investment of VND510 billion. By September 2024, the projects were completed, and signs of recovery began to appear at Cua Dai Beach. Over the past two years, the protected coastal sections have remained stable, with no landslides reported.
Despite these efforts, other parts of the Quang Nam coastline remain vulnerable. Sea water intrusion has destroyed houses in Hoi An, triggered coastal landslides in Duy Chuan District and Nui Thanh, and caused embankment collapses in Tam Ky City.
Heavy rains and strong waves continue to erode the Cua Dai coast, with some sections receding more than 15 meters inland, leaving once-bustling beaches deserted.
