A view of the Ly Son-Sa Huynh Geopark in Quang Ngai Province. The authorities of Quang Ngai Province want to suspend the Ly Son-Sa Huynh Geopark project as its socioeconomic effectiveness remains unclear – PHOTO: VNA

HCMC – In a move that has raised eyebrows, the authorities of Quang Ngai Province want to suspend the Ly Son-Sa Huynh Geopark project as its socioeconomic effectiveness remains unclear, said Dang Van Minh, chairman of the provincial government, at a meeting on April 7.

The provincial Department of Culture, Information and Tourism had been tasked with drafting and presenting a decision suspending the project to the provincial Party Committee’s Standing Board.

The move has surprised the public as the project has been in operation for five years with capital of VND20 billion having already been spent and has passed the preliminary round of UNESCO, reported the local media.

The central province commenced the project in 2015, aimed at promoting local socioeconomic and tourism growth. Two years later, the provincial government established the management board of the Ly Son-Sa Huynh Geopark under the jurisdiction of the Department of Culture, Information and Tourism.

Since then, the province in coordination with the Vietnam Institute of Geosciences and Mineral Resources and scientists have held many scientific conferences and conducted some 160 survey trips to identify the heritage value of the project.

In 2019, the above-mentioned department proposed the provincial government expand the project to 4,600 square kilometers. By the end of 2019, the province sent a file seeking the recognition of its Ly Son-Sa Huynh Geopark as a member of the UNESCO Global Geoparks Network and passed the preliminary round.

The UNESCO Global Geoparks Council was originally set to vote for the geopark at its annual meeting in late 2020 in South Korea, but the plan was delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.