Vietnam govt approves plan for Phu Quoc casino: report

Jan 19, 2015 Newsdesk Latest News, Rest of Asia, Top of the deck  

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Vietnam’s Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has approved plans for the construction of a casino at Phu Quoc Island, in the southern province of Kiên Giang.

The venue will be part of a larger tourism and entertainment complex, VietNamNet Bridge reported on Sunday.

The report said that the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the Kien Giang provincial authorities would be in charge of overseeing the project and handling bids.

Previous media reports had said the project would target foreign investors, who would have to make a minimum capital commitment of US$4 billion into the overall resort.

The casino would have up to 400 gambling tables and around 2,000 gaming machines. The duration for the licence is expected to be 30 years, said the latest report.

Phu Quoc Island, located on the coastal belt of Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand, is being developed into a special administrative economic zone by Vietnamese authorities.

Plans for a casino in Phu Quoc were first announced in 2007.

Vietnam has a population of around 92.5 million. The country has several casinos, but authorities prohibit Vietnamese people from casino gambling within national borders, unless they hold a foreign passport.

However, Vietnam’s government is considering a draft decree allowing local citizens to enter casinos, according to media reports last August.

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