Developer illegally fills Nha Trang Bay for tourism project   A rock embankment that has been built illegally in Nha Trang Bay. Photo: Duy Thanh/Tuoi Tre The developer of a US$30-million tourism project has been caught dumping construction materials into the renowned Nha Trang Bay in an apparent attempt to expand the construction area, local media reported. Local officials said at a meeting Friday that the entertainment and sports complex known as Nha Trang Sao has carried out land reclamation work without permission and managed to illegally fill up more than 23,000 square meters of the bay. In order to protect the new, expanded area, a rock embankment has been built along the site. Construction officials inspected the site last week and requested that Khanh Hoa Province fine the developer, Nha Trang Sao JSC, VND225 million ($10,000) and order it to fix the violations. The private investor started the project in October last year with a total investment of VND670 billion, or nearly $30 million. It has been allocated a land area of 44,152 square meters for construction and a water surface of 59,416 square meters. Local media quoted CEO Ngo Van Dung as saying that materials were dumped into the bay only to stabilize the construction area and would be removed later. Nha Trang’s environment has been damaged since the tourism boom began in 1999. In recent years, dozens of projects have been licensed along Nha Trang’s northern coastline. According to the Institute of Oceanography, the ecology of the 500-square-kilometer Nha Trang Bay has deteriorated rapidly due to tourism-related construction projects, leaving many native species teetering on the verge of extinction. Huynh Ngoc Bong, spokesman of Khanh Hoa Province, told Tuoi Tre that "local authorities have responsibility" in the new case. Thanh Nien News