The Phu Quoc Island is endowed with beautiful beaches, pleasant climate and untouched forests. Just nearly an hours flight from Ho Chi Minh City or three hours by speed boat from the Rach Gia Port, is Phu Quoc Island. Phu Quoc - the pearl of Vietnams islands - is located in the Gulf of Thailand. The island - the biggest offshore territory - is 593.05sq.km, approximately the same size as Singapore.
The center of the island is Duong Dong town which is located in the northwest of the island. With beautiful beaches, pleasant climate, untouched forests and a diverse ecosystem, Phu Quoc has great potential to develop tourism and economy. Recently, the island has focused on infrastructure improvements to meet the demand for economic development, becoming an economic and administrative center and a luxury international standard ecotourism zone.
In May 2010, the Prime Minister launched Decision 633/QĐ-TTg approving the master plan on transforming Phu Quoc Island in Kien Giang province until 2030. According to the project, Phu Quocs sea and island based ecotourism will develop in three main directions including the traffic route of An Thoi - Cau Trang, Bai Vong - Bai Thom - Rach Tram - Rach Vem - the transport route around the island and the route connecting the international ports of An Thoi, Bai Dat Do and Duong To International Airport. The Duong Dong Urban Zone will be the center of the Phu Quoc. The urban zone is also the center of administration, public services, commerce, international finance and tourism and is home to most of the people on the island. Pham Vu Hong, the chairman of the Phu Quoc District Peoples Committee, said that according to the previous plan, there were seven urban centers in the island, which has now been reduced to three.
Tourism is one of the key industries of the Phu Quoc Island. Therefore, according to the plan, there will be 15 ecotourism zones. The height of construction works will be limited. Hotels are not allowed to be higher than eight floors. Resorts can have one or more hotels depending on their location. It is estimated that Phu Quoc will welcome 2-3 million tourists per year by 2020 and 5-7 million per year by 2030.
According to the Phu Quoc Island Investment and Development Management Board, all projects on infrastructure construction have received support from the Kien Giang and Phu Quoc peoples committees to overcome difficulties and speed up construction progress. Road traffic systems include the north-south traffic route, the route around the island and smaller routes connecting the main two routes. Construction of the Duong To International Airport has been stepped up and ground leveling work has been finished. The project to deploy 110KV submarine power cables from Ha Tien to Phu Quoc over 53km and capitalized at VND1.3 trillion is out for tender. As estimated, the project will be finished in 2012. The project for a coal or compressed air fueled thermo-electricity station with a capacity of 200MW will finish the first stage in 2013. Ninety-eight percent of the main works at the An Thoi International Port have been completed and the remainders are currently under way. Experts are conducting a geological survey in the Vinh Dam Port to perfect construction design. The government has recently approved the breakwater system and the Duong Dong Port construction projects. Other projects on infrastructure such as a sewage system, waste treatment system, hospitals, schools, commercial centers and resettlement zones are under construction.
Hong said that in the past, because of poor infrastructure which did not meet the demand of investors, construction progress of all projects was very slow. However, the situation is different now. By 2012, basic infrastructure system in the Phu Quoc Island will be completed which will create favorable conditions for the implementation of other projects. Therefore, investors should speed up project progress to catch up with the infrastructure development. Delayed projects will have their licenses withdrawn and given to the investors who have ability to guarantee the progress of Phu Quoc Islands master plan.
