The Rakhine State government has issued a stern warning to Max Myanmar for allegedly pumping sand from Ngapali beach and building a “wave-resistant wall” outside of its compound, amid concerns about the impact of hotel development at the popular tourist destination.
During a visit to Ngapali from December 21-24, Rakhine State Chief Minister U Hla Maung Tin instructed local officials to charge Max for pumping sand from the beach and to form an investigation tribunal to probe the apparently illegal construction of a wall near its hotel, which is yet to open.
In a letter to local hoteliers on December 26, U Htay Win, deputy general manager of the Thandwe branch of state-run Myanma Hotels and Tourism Services, said the company had been cleared of the sand allegations based on “photos submitted by a responsible person for Rakhine State”, without elaborating.
“But [Max] has been probed by the investigation tribunal due to its wave-resistant wall reaching further than before,” the letter said. It is unclear whether action has been taken over the wall.
It added that hotels that build on land they do not own or that is not surveyed by the Settlements and Land Records Department, or take or pump sand from the beach, will face charges.
The general manager of Max Myanmar’s hotel division did not respond to requests for comment last week.
U Kyaw Soe Lwin, administrator for Thandwe township, confirmed that an investigation team had been formed to examine the Max Myanmar hotel site. The investigation is almost complete, he said, and charges could be laid depending on the team’s findings.
“Following the chief minister’s trip we are now more closely supervising all construction in the beach area,” he said. “All need to follow the correct procedures for constructing buildings in this area.”
While not a new problem, the practice of removing sand from the beach has become a major issue at Ngapali because of the construction of a number of new hotels at the beach. While it is illegal, some resorts take the sand, either to backfill concrete beachfront walls or to build up low-lying areas of hotel compounds.
There are also reports that the sand is ending up on local construction sites, despite sea sand generally not being suitable for use in reinforced concrete structures because of its high chloride content.
While U Kyaw Soe Lwin said sand was not being taken for commercial projects, photos provided to The Myanmar Times last month clearly show workers loading sand onto large trucks in broad daylight on the beach.
The problem is most serious on the northern beach near Thandwe Airport, where at least four hotels are under construction. One regular visitor took to global travel website TripAdvisor in December to express frustration at the “sand and rock pirates [who] are decimating this part of Ngapali”.
“Dozens of coastal trees, palms and casuarina are having their roots exposed to the extent that many are falling into the sea,” said the visitor, who identified themselves as “Thaibart”.
“Visit the mermaid on the rocks and you will see gangs of workers with sledgehammers, chisels and other tools destroying the rocks that have adorned the beach for centuries. Long gone are the smooth outlines of these rocks ... What remains are jagged shards of rock protruding from the ever-decreasing sand.”
Oliver E Soe Thet, a former adviser to the government on environmental issues in coastal Rakhine State, said that while the taking of sand from the beach had always been an issue it had “got out of control” in the second half of 2013, particularly near the airport and Myabin village. This is driven purely by an effort to save money, he said, as the general administration department has already advised hotels how they can buy sand sourced from other locations.
“Pleasant View Resort is the only hotel that constructed new buildings and followed the legal way of the government,” said Mr E Soe Thet.
“At the northern end of Ngapali beach, for example, one hotel pumped sand [during the whole monsoon] season into their compound to fill in swampland at no cost,” he said.
“Another hotel at Myabin took thousands of tonnes of sand to fill behind a 7-foot-high beachfront reinforced concrete wall. It is not only illegal but shows a lack of any regard for the community and other members of the hospitality industry.”
He said the actions of the hotels are short-sighted because the loss of Ngapali’s fine sand will inevitably harm its image as a luxury destination and ultimately affect visitor numbers.
“The sand is taken very quickly from the beach but nature needs thousands of years to turn a sea shell into fine white Ngapali beach sand.”
source: The Myanmar Times
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