A casino could be coming to Vietnam’s largest island.
The Politburo, the ruling Communist Party’s top policy-making body, has signed off on the idea, at least in principle, that ongoing development at Phu Quoc island in the Mekong Delta could include resort-scale gaming. This is according to the newspaper Tien Phong, which reports that Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung is also pushing the island’s potential as a tourism and international trade hub.
Phu Quoc is reported to have one of the best beaches in the country and last year welcomed 430,000 tourists, a 32% increase over 2010. The island has enjoyed average economic growth of 25% a year during the last decade, and infrastructure has progressed rapidly to accommodate it. More than 200 development projects have been approved for the island, encompassing 4,850 hectares and representing VND135 trillion in investment (US$63 million), according to the head of the Kien Giang provincial government.
Local investment interests are also touting the potential of a small island group off the central coast, Ly Son in Quang Ngai province, as a gaming and tourist destination.
“I believe that Ly Son can become the silver island of the central region in a near future,” said Tran Bac Ha, chairman of the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam.
Ly Son and its 69-hectare sister island of Be recently were connected to the national power grid, reports Thanh Nien News, which quoted Mr Tran from a speech he delivered at a conference in Hanoi last week attended by Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.
Tiny Be island, specifically, “should be set aside for a hi-end entertainment area with five star hotels and casinos to attract tourists for long holiday visits,” Mr Tran said.
Thanh Nien said Mr Nguyen planned to submit the proposal to the central government.
The two islands total about10 square kilometers combined and are home to a small population of mostly fishermen and farmers.
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