Thousands of giant trees felled for road project in Vietnam’s Central Highlands

Tree trunks now lie scattered along both sides of Provincial Road 676 leading into communes within Kon Plong District.

Residents are questioning why the investor did not build the new road on the existing roadbed, opting instead to cut down many large forest trees to carve a new route.

The areas along Provincial Road 676 from Mang Den Town to the communes of Mang Canh, Dak Tang, Dak Ring, and Mang But in Kon Plong District are covered with lush, pristine forests.

Thanks to the extensive forest coverage, the region enjoys a cool, fresh climate favorable for tourism, particularly with its community-based tourism villages.

Local residents noted that since the road project commenced, many workers equipped with chainsaws and excavators have been cutting down numerous large trees.

Under the roaring sound of chainsaws, centuries-old trees have been falling one by one.

Tree trunks were cut into segments ranging from five to seven meters in length, with many having diameters from several dozen centimeters to over a meter.

The timber has been dragged out and stacked along both sides of Provincial Road 676 in massive quantities. 

Passers-by expressed sorrow and regret over the loss of these forest areas.

According to the Kon Plong forest protection unit, the areas where the trees were felled had already undergone a forest land use conversion process to serve the road construction project.

The Kon Tum authorities assigned Kon Plong Forestry Company to handle the timber harvesting.

The company has completed logging the trees and is in the process of inventorying the volume and types of timber for an auction.

Preliminary estimates suggest around 1,300 cubic meters of wood was felled for the road project.

The route alignment is carried out according to the design documents—whichever forest areas it passes through must be cleared accordingly.

"The felled logs are now cluttering the roadside, obstructing local travel. It’s essential to speed up the process and complete all necessary procedures for land clearance so that the investor can proceed with construction,” said a representative from the Kon Plong forest protection unit.

Phung Van Long, director of the project management unit, stated that local authorities had handed over a significant portion of the site, including areas of forest land, and construction has begun on several sections.

According to Long, the road requires a straight alignment that passes through forest areas.

“This project is facing delays in land clearance, which affects progress. In addition to forested areas, the project still faces challenges in compensating and relocating affected households,” Long added.

The road project, which connects Kon Plong District in Kon Tum Province with Son Tay and Son Ha Districts in Quang Ngai Province, has a total length of over 56 kilometers.

The road is designed to have a width of nine meters, with a six-meter-wide carriageway and three-meter-wide shoulders (1.5 meters on each side). The project carries a price tag of VND1.3 trillion (US$50.2 million).

The project began in December 2022 and is expected to be completed by the end of 2025. Construction is being carried out by a consortium of Truong Long Joint Stock Company, New Sun Bridge and Road Joint Stock Company, and Tuan Dung Co. Ltd.

The project requires around 199.78 hectares of land, including 61.24 hectares of forest land. A total of 1,548 households and organizations have been affected and require compensation and support.