Crystal Bay builds 3,300-room hotel in Ninh Thuan province

Hospitality group Crystal Bay yesterday started construction on one of the country’s biggest hotel complex in Ninh Thuan province.

The SunBay Park Hotel & Resort will feature 3,300 rooms on three towers looking over the Ninh Chu beach in the Ninh Thuan provincial capital city of Phan Rang Thap Cham, just over one-hour drive from Cam Ranh international airport.

The hotel’s total development cost is estimated at $195 million and construction is expected to finish in June 2010.

The complex will also comprise a 4.7ha water park, a shopping mall, 9 infinity pools and 9 Eurasian restaurants. Every detail of the hotel design is inspired by typical local Cham culture.

Crystal Bay chairman Nguyen Duc Chi said the company wanted to become a strategic investor in Ninh Thuan and SunBay Park Hotel & Resort is the first among a series of tourism projects it will develop in the province.

In addition to SunBay Park Hotel & Resort, Crystal Bay is promoting three other large project in Ninh Thuan, including the 766 hectare- Mui Dinh Ecopark, Ninh Chu Sailing Bay and 10-hectare Bai Coc beach resort.

Mui Dinh Ecopark is the largest one, designed with seven hotels having 7,000 rooms and 500 villas in plan. The project is designed by the Bangkok - based Chapman Taylor architectural office.

Ninh Thuan People’s Committee chairman Luu Xuan Vinh said the provincial administration will provide the best possible incentives for tourism investors.

Last year the province attracted 2.19 million tourists, up 15.3 percent year-on-year, and raked in VND1.05 trillion ($45 million) in revenue, a year-on-year rise of 18.9 per cent.

The province features various pristine beaches, picturesque landscape and cultural relics, but has so far been able to build only one upscale hotel, the Amanoi.