“Tran Hung Dao is the most expensive street in Phu Quoc. The land is priced at VND50-60 million per square meter,” said Ty, a taxi driver, pointing to numerous bungalows. They were all built, mostly by private investors, in recent years.

Savills Vietnam, in a market analysis report released recently, said that Phu Quoc is now a ‘golden land’ for tourism development. However, most of the hotels have been developed by locals and are small, while only a few are managed in a professional way.

The report pointed out that by the first quarter of 2016, only 33 percent of hotel room supply on the island, about 2,500 rooms, meet 3-5 star requirements. Sixty percent have been operational for only two years, after the Phu Quoc Airport was built.

When asked about the prices of land plots on Tran Hung Dao Street, Tu, a real estate broker, said the prices vary depending on the position. 

The investment boom on Phu Quoc Island, with the appearance of the biggest real estate developers, from Vingroup and Sungroup to BIM and CEO, has caused land prices to escalate daily.

“You can buy a land plot on this side of the road at just VND20-30 billion. But if you want the plot on the other side which faces the sea, the price would be VND50-60 billion,” he said.

Thirteen years ago, 1,000 square meters of land could be bought at VND15 million, but now the price is up to VND5-6 billion.  

Multi-trillion dong projects 

Phu Quoc is the focus of the 2016 national tourism program. Called the ‘pearl island’, it is located in an advantageous position, near international maritime routes and air routes which link Phu Quoc and other regional cities such as Singapore, Siem Reap, Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur.

Many infrastructure projects have been developed by the government since 2012, including the 110 KW national electricity grid (VND2.36 trillion), a transport backbone route (VND1.2 trillion) and the Phu Quoc Airport expansion (VND1 trillion).

The new infrastructure has paved the way for private investors to pour money into Phu Quoc. Vingroup has developed an international passenger port (VND1.6 trillion) and the Safari Zoo (VND3.15 trillion).

Sungroup in April 2016 announced two large projects – Premier Residences Phu Quoc Emerald Bay and Premier Village Phu Quoc Resort. It is also injecting money into JW Marriott, a high-end resort, and The Ritz-Carlton Reverse.

In 2016, the CEO Group started the Novotel Phu Quoc Resort project with investment capital of VND4.5 trillion.


Chi Mai