The national government now says that all construction plans for the park have been shelved until at least the year 2030. Quang Binha officials said in October 2014 that a private contractor had won a concession to build an 11km cable-car system at Phong Nha-Ke Bang.
A spokesperson said such a system would give visitors bird’s eye views of the park’s pristine natural terrain and provide a convenient means of accessing caves such as the world-renowned Son Doong. The proposal was slammed by local residents, tourists and international environmentalists alike.
They all claimed it would destroy Phong Nha-Ke Bang and urged the Vietnamese government to intervene and scrap the idea. Government analysts said that although development is banned for the time being they thought commercial enterprises would move in once the 15-year grace period had elapsed.
UNESCO designated the 850,000-acre expanses of Phong Nha-Ke Bang as a world heritage site in 2003. Its verdant mountains are home to 300 caves which experts say are 400 million years old. With a length of five kilometres, Son Doong is the biggest cave in the world.
Vietnam shelves plans for cable-cars in Phong Nha-Ke Bang Park
News in Asia
The Vietnamese government announced this week it has shelved plans to install a cable car system at Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park. Quang Binha provincial authorities had proposed installing the system as part of infrastructure improvements in the UNESCO designated park.