New Phu Quoc airport holds key to island’s future

VietNamNet Bridge – Construction of the Phu Quoc International Airport which began last month is vital to the island’s development, local authorities have said.

Bui Ngoc Suong, People’s Committee chairman of Kien Giang Province – of which the island is a part – said he expected the new airport would help develop the local economy and tourism industry.

The airport is being built by the Southern Airports Corporation at a cost of 970 million USD. When completed in mid-2012, it will be able to handle B767 and B747-400 aircraft and up to 7 million passengers and 27,600 tonnes of cargo a year.

Suong said Phu Quoc was one of Vietnam ’s 12 biggest island districts of the size of Singapore , endowed with primeval forests, scenic landscapes and famous historical sites.

By September, the island had licensed 21 foreign and domestic projects with a total investment of 1.72 billion USD, mostly in tourism. But only three are operational now while most of the others have been tardy because of the poor infrastructure like roads, power supply, airport and ports.

In this context, Suong pointed out, the construction of the airport was vital to the island’s development since it would enable foreign investors to travel here to develop tourism and trade.

Island authorities have sped up detailed zoning plans, earmarking areas meant for tourism, urban development, and marine zones, to serve as a basis for developing infrastructure.

Under a master development strategy to turn Phu Quoc into a special economic zone, the Government has promised investors liberal land, tax, and licensing incentives.

Kien Giang authorities also plan to invest in infrastructure, especially for transport, like a trans-island road network. Construction of three trans-island routes at a cost of 320 billion VND (19.45 million USD) is under way and expected to be completed in the next two years.

The island is also set to build thermal and other power plants since the island now faces a severe electricity shortage that can badly affect its economic development.

To tap the potential of the new airport, the province has said it needed an estimated 5 trillion VND (303.95 million USD) by 2010 to build infrastructure to attract foreign investments.

The investment is likely to come from ODA funding, other foreign and domestic sources, and government bonds.
To support the island’s efforts, the province recently set up an investment management and development board to promptly settle problems with regard to investment procedures.

Source: VNA