New hotels spring up in Vietnam

In the north

Dong An Beach Hotel

In Lang Son Province, 38 million USD will be spent on a resort project that, when completed in 2007, will offer a 5-star hotel, an 18-hole golf course and deluxe services. After a seven-year delay, construction has started on the Tam Dao Golf Course and Resort’s 18-hole golf course and hotel in Vinh Phuc Province,  which will cost its Vietnamese investors 15 million USD and be completed in 2005. The hotel will offer private villas, a swimming pool and a tennis court. The first nine holes of Hai Duong Province’s 6.5 million USD golf course of the Chi Linh Star Golf and Country Club were opened for guests in late November. The rest of the resort, a hotel and two more nine-hole golf courses will cost 33.5 million USD and be completed at the end of 2005. The second of two tourism projects in the Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park, in Quang Binh Province, has been approved. The first project, which will cost 10 million USD, will see the development of a resort and entertainment centre, while the second project will focus on the many caves in the area at a cost of 5.7 million USD. The Dong An Beach Hotel opened its doors for guests in October 2003. The new 4-star hotel offers 81 guest rooms, a restaurant and bar, banquet and meeting rooms, a pool and first class amenities. Royal International expects to have finished building a 25-storey, 1,000-room hotel in Quang Ninh’s Halong City by the end of 2005.

The Beach Resort

In the central region

In 2005, the Quang Nam Province will have a new 3-star resort that will feature 100 cottages and entertainment facilities. A five year 7 million USD resort project in Danang will upgrade two existing hotels and add a resort complex that will offer 31 cottages, a 9-storey hotel, a golf course and apartment complexes. Lam Dong Province plans to renovate a resort at the Damri Waterfall by adding a new hotel and monorail and hot-air balloon services, to be completed by the end of 2004. Saigontourist plans to build a 4-star hotel in Dalat that will have 200 rooms. Construction for this project will start in 2004. The company will also be building a 4 million USD 4-star hotel in Quy Nhon, in Binh Dinh Province, that will offer 116 rooms, meeting rooms, restaurants and a swimming pool. The Beach Resort in Phan Thiet in the Binh Thuan Province is open for guests and offers 40 sea-view or garden-view rooms, an outdoor swimming pool, a spa, a restaurant and bar, and modern

VinPearl Resort and Spa

amenities. The My An Tourist Centre & Spa in Hue is now open for guests and offers 3-star guest rooms, therapeutic sulphur baths, a restaurant that serves traditional Hue cuisine and more. In Nha Trang, Furama Hotels & Resorts International had a soft opening for its new 5-star VinPearl Resort and Spa on 18^th December. The luxury resort offers 500 guestrooms, international restaurants and bars, nightclubs, indoor and outdoor swimming pools, a spa, a gym and recreation services.

In the south

Vung Tau, on Vietnam’s southern coast, will have a new resort complex that will house entertainment and health facilities and a casino at a cost of 180 million USD by the end of the year. In Kien Giang Province, a 12.3 million USD resort is being built and is expected to be completed in 2010. U.S.-based Keystone Corporation has proposed a 100 million USD plan to build a luxury resort on Tieu Dao Island in Ho Chi Minh City that will offer 286 hectares of hotels, parks, restaurants, villas, office and shopping complexes, trade centres and more. In Ho Chi Minh City, the Rex Hotel plans to construct a new building that will offer 70 rooms, a meeting hall that will seat 1000 people, a supermarket and a sports centre.

Airport news

In 1997, a 4.6 billion USD plan was passed that called for the construction of 138 airports in Vietnam by 2010. Vietnam’s Civil Aviation Authority recently announced that it will be amending this plan and instead restore or develop the country’s existing domestic and international airports and build a few new airports at locations that show potential for growth. The Dien Bien Phu Airport is undergoing a 1.6 million USD renovation that will add a new terminal and car park and expand the taxiway. Construction is expected to finish in late February 2004. Nearly 6.5 million USD will be spent to renovate the Chu Lai Airport in the Quang Nam Province so that it meets international standards. Expected to be completed in the second quarter of this year, the upgraded airport will have new terminals, transport systems, flight control equipment and a global express service centre.