National Focus

A new airport could be a “door” to open up Van Don special economic zone

By Giang Son October 26, 2017 | 03:40 PM GMT+7

An international airport project within the special administrative-economic zone (SEZ) of Van Don is being considered by the National Assembly and proponents hope it can become a driving force of the SEZ’s development.

Project site of Van Don international airport on October, 2017.

Van Don and Phu Quoc island are special destinations for investment and high-end resorts and they may include casinos which will be available for Vietnamese players.

However, Van Don and Phu Quoc are island districts that have underdeveloped roads and port infrastructure. As a result, an airport is being thought of as a 'door' opening for interested investors.

Phu Quoc has developed more rapidly than Van Don, in part because it already has an airport. Quang Ninh province, where Van Don is located, is currently investing in infrastructure but the airport is seen as critical.

Notably, key infrastructure projects in Phu Quoc including the airport were financed with capital from the state budget. However, the Van Don airport is being funded with private capital.

Sun Group, which has invested in many large resorts and entertainment projects in Phu Quoc, became the largest investor in Van Don when implementing two key projects including Van Don International Airport and an upscale resort complex.

Van Don International Airport Project has a total estimated investment of VND7,500 billion (about US$330 million) with a total area of 288ha and it includes runways, railway stations and parking lots.

According to Sun Group, this airport is expected to be put into operation in the first half of next year.

Van Don’s airport will be located within a four to five hour flight radius of a huge potential market comprising 3.5 billion people and GDP of US$22 trillion.

Within a driving radius of four to five hours, Van Don can approach a market of 23 million people and its GDP is US$62 billion.

In addition to the airport project, Sun Group is investing in complex of high-class tourism having a casino that has a total investment capital of over US$2 billion.

CEO Group, a corporation is also investing in many projects in Phu Quoc, is also investing in Van Don. It bought a 94ha - resort project and planned to invest VND5,000 billion (more than US$220 million) to build a 5,000-room hotel complex, water park, shopping center and public beach.

Other investors such as FLC Group and HD Mon Holdings are also investing in resort complexes, urban areas and golf courses.

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