Vietnams Biggest Island Pulls in US$1.8 Bln Investment in Tourism, Real Estate

<div align="justify">Phu Quoc in southern Kien Giang province, the biggest island in Vietnam, has to date attracted 21 investment projects totaling US$1.8 billion, said a provincial official. </div> <div align="justify"> </div> <div align="justify">Pham Vu Hong, chairman of the provincial People&rsquos Committee, said the investment mostly focused on the areas of tourism and real estate. </div> <div align="justify"> </div> <div align="justify">The province has also agreed in principle to 154 other projects, covering a 5,647-hectare site and worth US$889 million. </div> <div align="justify"> </div> <div align="justify">He also added that Kien Giang is speeding up the construction of routes in the island, An Thoi Port and Duong To Airport to lure more investors. </div> <div align="justify"> </div> <div align="justify">Phu Quoc is an unspoiled tropical island in the Gulf of Thailand that is just a short flight away from almost all Southeast Asia Cities metropolises. About 70 per cent of the 567 square-kilometer island is blanketed by rain forests and crisscross rivers and streams. </div> <div align="justify"> </div> <div align="justify">Phu Quoc expects to welcome 300,000 - three million visitors a year in the 2010-2020 span. Among them, the number of international arrivals makes up 30 per cent-40 per cent of the total. Revenue from the hospitality sector during the period will also reach US$45 million-US$771 million. </div> <div align="justify"> </div> <div align="justify">Vietnam plans to develop the island into a tourist island that will attract between two and three million visitors per year by 2020. (Youth)</div>