Aquaba pushes market trend

Developers of the Aquaba Luxury Resort in Binh Thuan province are aiming to pull in second home buyers

Born out of a desire to create a luxurious beach-front retreat along the east coast of Vietnam on the picturesque bay of Mui Ne in Phan Thiet township, Aquaba comprises two seven-storey apartment blocks with a total of 60 units, 33 townhouses and six villas.
Developed by Suoi Nuoc Resort Company Ltd, founded by a group of overseas Vietnamese and foreigners, the project has an initial investment capital of $9.5 million.
“This project proves a new trend in the Vietnamese real estate market especially in the untapped second-home market,” said Nguyen Danh Khoi, director of Suoi Nuoc Resort Ltd.
“But it is quite common in countries with developed tourism such as Thailand’s Phuket or Indonesia’s Bali. This also may change the mindset of investors in Vietnam. We have also made a careful market consideration of the comparison with other key resort destinations in the region and Phan Thiet emerges as the best choice for the project,” he added.
Khoi said the project, covering a total area of 2.5 hectares, will get off the ground by the middle of April, and is expected to be operational by the first quarter of next year.
CB Richard Ellis Vietnam has been chosen as the sole marketing agent for Aquaba and AIC Management Company (Vietnam) have been named as the project management.
Potential customers for Aquaba are wealthy local, overseas Vietnamese, foreigners and second-home market investors. Foreigners and overseas Vietnamese as well as corporate investors may purchase property in Aquaba under a long-term leasehold title ownership.
Having gained a 35.6 per cent annual average growth rate in tourism during recent years, Binh Thuan province holds potential for tourism development especially in terms of infrastructure investment.
The advantages of a stable political and legal framework will also play an important role along with the favourable climate conditions for year-round visits.
“Despite undeveloped public facilities, Mui Ne-Phan Thiet is of huge potential for tourism development. Aquaba will provide a unique opportunity to investors and second-home buyers to invest in the tourism industry of Vietnam,” said Marc Townsend, managing director of CBRE.
The prices of each apartment, townhouse and villa vary from $50,000-$200,000, $195,000-$220,000 and $500,000-$525,000, respectively. These costs exclude VAT, transfer fees and furniture.
Local buyers can get financial support from An Binh Commercial Joint-Stock Bank up to 70 per cent of the total costs over a 10-year term.
Following a roadshow in Ho Chi Minh City last week, Khoi said other similar events will be conducted in California, the EU, Hong Kong and a number of Asian countries in an attempt to attract investors.
Quyen Le, an executive from Suoi Nuoc Resort Company, said that apart from this project, her company will also develop another Aquaba in Mui Ne next year, and a resort in Phu Quoc in the Mekong Delta province of Kien Giang.


No. 754/March 27-April 2, 2006