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F
our years ago, a casino integrat-
ed resort called Marina Bay Sands
opened in Singapore. It quickly
became a famous place around
the world on a par with Resort World
Genting in Malaysia.
Having eyed this success, the Vi-
etnamese government is planning a
state-of-art casino integrated resort in
the undeveloped Van Don archipelago
in Quang Ninh province, close to Ha-
long Bay.
The government recently an-
nounced that it would establish a spe-
cial economic zone in Van Don, focus-
ing on the tourism industry. The casino
integrated resort will be the heart of
this new zone. The purpose of the zone
is to lure foreign capital for tourism pro-
jects. The aim is to create a new tourism
hub in Southeast Asia to rival Singapore
and Malaysia’s big hitters.
“Given its imposing scenery, we
want to make Van Don a famous tour-
ism place. In our plan, building a ca-
sino integrated resort is essential,” says
Nguyen Van Doc, Chairman of Quang
Ninh People’s Committee.
Hidden gem
About 60 kilometres from Halong
city, Van Don has 600 islets over an
area of 584 square metres. “I can say
that the natural scenery in Van Don is
not second to Halong Bay. Van Don is
greener and more natural because it
is untapped,” says Trinh Vu Hong, vice
head of Van Don Economic Zone Man-
agement Authority.
Visitors to Van Don Island can see
lovely white-sand beaches with clear
blue water, the Van mountain peak at
445 metres on Ban Sen islet, and the Bai
Tu Long national park on Ba Mun. The
national park boasts a primeval forest
with precious trees and wild animals
such as wild boars, monkeys, gibbons,
eagles and squirrels.
In the past, Cai Rong, the major
town of Van Don, was a prosperous
timeout
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The Van Don archipelago looks set to become Viet-
nam’s next big destination with government plans
for a casino integrated resort and a host of other
tourism projects.
Ninh Kieu
writes.
A safe bet