The southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau late last month recorded a huge success in attracting 10 investment projects worth a combined $1.245 billion, with foreign direct investment (FDI) alone amounting to over $922 million.
The amount accounts for nearly half of the province's investment capital target for the year 2010.
The newly-licensed projects involve different fields including tourism facilities, seaport, logistics, school and market development, said Ho Van Nien, vice chair of the province at a function held in Vung Tau City yesterday to award certificates to investors.
While foreign investors will pour over $922 million into two projects, local firms also were licensed to spend 6.175 trillion dong, equivalent to $343 million, in the remaining eight projects.
The Dragon Sea International Convention and Tourism Resort project by Skybridge Dragon Sea Ltd Co of the US alone contributed more than $900 million to the province's total foreign direct investment figure.
This project covers 47 hectares at Chi Linh-Cua Lap area in Vung Tau City. Ali Soliman, architect advisor of Skybridge Intercontinental Development Corp., said his company chose the shape of a Dragon as theme for designing the complex.
The project includes an internationally-respected five-star hotel designed as the head of the dragon, which is located nearest to the sea. The luxury villas nearby represent the pearl necklace of the dragon, he said. The body of the dragon will contain 60,000 square meters of luxury retail and entertainment units, and 2,500 hospitality rooms comprized of three- to four-star hotels, serviced apartments and high-rise condo units.
At the dragon's tail near Highway 51 will be the world-class international convention and exhibition centre. The project will also include a business hotel and high rise office buildings erected on the two sides, plus a five-hectare open-air amphitheatre. This grand outdoor plaza will host audiences of up to 15,000 people for concerts and other large events.
The project will be developed in eight phases and it needs 8 to 10 years to finish, he added.
For the other FDI project, Daewon-Thu Duc Housing Development Co will develop the Cantavil - Long Hai resort project at Long Dien District with the investment capital of $20 million.
Local investors are also aggressive with the other projects. Sao Bien International Port joint Stock Co will develop an international port in the province with investment of more than 4,551 billion dong. The port project is located in the My Xuan - Thi Vai port cluster on the left bank of Thi Vai River in Tan Thanh District.
When being put into use, the port can handle one million twenty-foot-equivalent units of cargo and half a million tonnes of general cargo, according to the company. Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province last year was already the leader in FDI attraction with total pledged capital of nearly $6.8 billion including fresh and increased capital. The province expected to absorb nearly $2 billion from 20 new foreign-invested projects, and some 12 trillion dong of domestic investment this year.
Nien said that with the first investors in the early months of 2010, the registered capital of both domestic and foreign investment had reached nearly 50 percent of the planned targets.
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