Deputy Director of the Ha Long Bay Managing Board Nguyen Cong Thai who has returned to Vietnam from the 30th conference of the World Heritage Committee held in Vilnius, Lithuania, said on August 2 that the List of World Heritages in Danger, made by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), has included 34 sites but not Ha Long Bay.

Recently, there was public concern about the operation of the Cam Pha Cement Plant which was believed to be damaging the environment and the landscape of Ha Long Bay.

Mr Thai said the World Heritage Committee asked the managing board to report the plant’s construction in early 2007. The construction and operation of the Cam Pha cement plant have not affected Ha Long Bay’s environment and landscape as the plant is located in Cam Pha town, 10km from the heritage site’s buffer zone, and material zones are 7-25 km from the seaside.

Ha Long Bay was recognised by the UNESCO as a world heritage site for its natural beauty in 1994, and for its geomorphic characteristics in 2000.