Hoi An/Quang Nam province construction report (2024)

Quang Nam province is in the South Central Coast region of Vietnam, south of Danang. Quang Nam is home to Hoi An, and there is a 30km stretch of beach between Hoi An and Danang that is being developed into a resort coast. There are many famous hotel brands along this coastline, and just as many stalled and abandoned hotel projects.

I visited Hoi An in October and November 2024, which is the wettest time of year to visit. I had sat out a typhoon in Danang a few days earlier, and I was beginning to question my judgement of scheduling a trip at this time of year.

The sun came out though, and riding along the coast reminded me what a beautiful part of the world Quang Nam is when the sun is out.

For this trip I visited some of the abandoned projects along the coast, starting at the Danang/Quang Nam border (about halfway between Danang and Hoi An). There are also some new urban areas and hotel projects in Hoi An and to the south of Hoi An.

No trip to Quang Nam is complete without a visit to Hoi An Ancient Town, so I begin my report there.

Hoi An Ancient Town

Hoi An Ancient Town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, so there isn’t much to say here on this site about future cities. I’m interested in historic preservation though, and the biggest story of 2024 for Hoi An was the completion of the Japanese Bridge restoration.

Initially, there was some shock at the newness of the bridge when it was unveiled. The paint job made it look different to how it looked before restoration. The bridge was repainted to look more like how people remember it.

Hoi An has strict restoration rules, so the old town remains looking like an old town. This causes problems for property owners though, as renovating old houses according to historic specifications is more expensive compared to making ad hoc changes.

The most pressing issue for Hoi An is the annual floods that happen around this time of year. I was lucky with the weather, but there had been some flooding before I arrived.

The capital of Quang Nam province (Tam Ky) is planning to build flood defences. Meanwhile, Hoi An is resigning itself to the annual floods with a “Hoi An in flood season” tour.

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