Authorities in the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi have given the green light to a US$500 million horse racing and entertainment facility as part of the city’s 2020 socio-economic development plan.
According to local media, the complex will be built on a large parcel of agricultural land located in Soc San to the north of Hanoi and will be operational by 2021.
The project is almost 20 years in the making, having first been proposed in 1999 only to fall though due to the lack of a legal framework for horse racing and sports betting. A local travel company asked for permission to re-open a feasibility and research study in 2007 but was told the legal framework for sports betting would need to be completed first.
That milestone was finally accomplished in 2017 when the national government passed a law making sports betting legal. The VnExpress says that foreign companies are also looking to invest in horse racing facilities in Bac Ninh, Vinh Phuc and Ho Chi Minh City.
RelatedPosts
