Viet Nam’s tourism ministry has ordered Quang
Binh Province to assess the geological impacts of constructing a steel ladder
in Son Doong, the world’s largest cave, and suspend the project if necessary, a
senior official said. Nguyen The Hung, Director of the ministry's Culture
Heritage Department, said the request was issued after local media reports said
concerns were mounting that the ladder could affect the cave’s geological
structure. A source from the central province said authorities were looking
into the matter and would report back to the ministry. Local media last week
reported that Quang Binh's provincial government and tourism department had
approved a plan to erect a ladder up a 100-meter wall (330 feet) near the end
of Son Doong Cave. British cave experts who were among the first to explore the
cave have suggested that a stainless steel ladder could be useful for explorers
who wish to climb the wall, which has been dubbed the Great Wall of Viet Nam. Screws
and ropes would be used to assemble and hang the ladder and there would be no
welding, said cave expert Howard Limbert. The ladder could be removed at any
time without causing any damage to the cave, he said. But local media reports
said cavers were concerned the project could disturb stalactites that have
taken tens of thousands of years to form. Nhan Dan newspaper, the official
publication of Viet Nam’s ruling Communist Party, said no environmental impact
assessment for the project had been conducted thus far, adding that “caution is
needed”. Son Doong, or Mountain River, stretches more than six kilometers (four
miles) underground, and boasts at least 150 individual grottoes and a dense
subterranean jungle intertwined by rivers and fossilized corridors. The cave
was discovered in 1991 by local man Ho Khanh, who in 2009 helped Limbert and
other British experts explore it. It was first opened to tourists on a trial
basis in August 2013, and tours are usually fully booked a year ahead. Most
tours finish at the wall, which is around six kilometers into the cave. The
exploration time for the cave could be shortened to three days from five if
there’s a ladder to go past the wall.
E.vnexpress.net
– May 25 - http://e.vnexpress.net/news/travel-life/travel/vietnam-s-tourism-ministry-questions-impact-of-giant-ladder-in-world-s-largest-cave-3590026.html
Viet Nam’s tourism ministry questions impact of giant ladder in world’s largest cave
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