Can Phu Quoc become the next Dubai?

[ASEAN NOW News]

There are big plans afoot for the island of Phu Quoc.

 

Selavia proposal

 

TTC Group announced recently that they plan to create an "all-in-one" tourist destination to be called Selavia.

 

This a 180-hectare artificial island, shaped like a lotus that will stretch into Phú Quốc's Đầm Bay and contain villas, boat docks, a massive pool, and an outdoor recreation area.

 

TTC Group, a conglomerate with investments in real estate, energy, agriculture and hospitality, said they are estimating total investment capital at over US$1.3 billion for the project.

 

While constructing artificial islands is nothing new, Selavia's calls to mind the most famous ones in Dubai: The Palm Islands, The World, and The Universe.

 

Space Trips

 

Meanwhile, Conglomerate Thaigroup hopes to build the nation's first spaceship launchpad to facilitate space tourism.

 

The Vietnamese company has sought permission from Phú Quốc authorities to scout suitable locations on Vietnam's largest island and if all goes according to plan, construction would begin in 2022–2026.

 

Experts claim there is a demand in Southeast Asia for space travel, but Vietnam currently has no means of sending people into orbit. 

 

The company says that the VND30 trillion (US$1.32 billion) center for launching and receiving spaceships will be a boon for tourism and benefit the region's overall socio-economic development. 

 

Meanwhile, as Phú Quốc experiences a building boom, it is also trying to deal with a massive garbage problem, flooding caused in part by rapid and unmitigated construction, and waters polluted with untreated waste thanks to inadequate infrastructure. 

 

With all these ambitious plans, can Phu Quoc really cope, or could we be seeing the start of an ecological disaster?

 

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[Darkside Gray]

Phu Quoc is already being destroyed by to much development and not enough infrastructure

[Tropicalevo]

I managed to visit Phu Quoc just before Covid wiped the smile off everyone's faces.

Lovely island. Great people. Horrible killer hornets though. (They put me in bed for three days - my friend and I survived.)

I certainly cannot see it become a hub for space tourism. Hopefully that is as fanciful as when some people hoped to put a ski slope on Koh Samui.

 

[teelac777]

Great idea!

The tree-hugging foreigners may not like it, but the locals who make $200 a month working in fish sauce factories are ecstatic about expansion.

70% of Phu Quoc is national park, recent developments have barely made a tiny dent in the landscape.

[seff55]

 

On 3/19/2022 at 1:27 PM, teelac777 said:

70% of Phu Quoc is national park, recent developments have barely made a tiny dent in the landscape.

Hope to visit Phu Quoc end of this year see what's going on down there.. as of right now, I have no opinion. But you stated 70% of PQ is park?, that's actually really good news!

 

Shouldn't Phu Quoc be compared to Koh Samui or Phuket?