VietNamNet Bridge – A domestic company with strong financial capacity is expected to invest in a major recreational complex including a casino on Phu Quoc Island off mainland Kien Giang Province.

Foreign and domestic travelers are seen at a pristine beach on Phu Quoc. According to the Government’s portal, the Prime Minister has given “in principle” approval to a recreational complex consisting of a casino on the island

A leader of the Mekong Delta province was quoted by Tuoi Tre newspaper as saying that the Government could request relevant ministries and agencies to select a local investor for the complex but there is no information about the investor.

He said no foreign investor had been found for the project after agencies made investment promotion trips overseas, so a domestic investor could be chosen instead.     

Dinh Khoa Toan, chairman of Phu Quoc District in Kien Giang Province, told Tuoi Tre that no company had confirmed its involvement though the project got the green light from the Government.

Toan said the exact site of the project had not been decided and that the province would work to identify the location when an investor registered its intention.

The Prime Minister has assigned the Ministry of Planning and Investment to cooperate with Kien Giang Province and relevant agencies to collect comments on the casino project and send proposed policies and incentives to the Government for approval.

According to the Government’s portal, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has given the nod to the recreational complex on the resort island.

Phu Quoc covers more than 589 square kilometers and has a population of some 96,940. The island is envisioned becoming a special economic and administrative zone consisting of areas for international-standard tourism and recreational services, and centers for finance, sciences and technology, marine and forestry biodiversity.

According to the Kien Giang Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Phu Quoc welcomed 600,000 visitors last year, up 37% compared to the year earlier. Foreign travelers made up 55% of the total.

Phu Quoc looks to attract two to three million tourists a year in the next decade.    

SGT