No headway at Bai Dai Resort despite new investor

Bai Dai Resort, the $1.6-billion investment by Starbay Holdings Ltd., a subsidiary of Hong Kong’s Millennium Group, now belongs to a Vietnamese investor. However, so far, this project is still very sluggish in implementation.

Stellar disappointment

If the project had been deployed smoothly and on schedule, at the moment, there would be a world-class tourist resort being built at the area of Bai Dai (Phu Quoc district).

The 520-hectare beachside project, licensed in 2008 with an investment value of $1.6 billion, is currently on its $300-million first phase. It is one of Vietnam’s largest resort developments with a series of top-notch hotels, an 18-hole golf course, as well as numerous residential villas and marinas. The whole project is expected to be completed after 12 years of construction, by around 2020.

However, until now, every plan has fallen to pieces. Starbay Holdings has been continuously urged by Kien Giang Province authorities because it left the land deserted and the project delayed. By the end of 2014, Starbay sounded the (quiet) official call to withdraw from the Bai Dai Resort project. A source of VIR said the area given to Starbay for the project is now parcelled out for other investors. A Leader of Phu Quoc Economic Zone Administration (Kien Giang) told VIR, “Only one part of the project is now in the hands of Starbay JSC, a Vietnamese company. The project also retains its name of Bai Dai Resort.”

According to this information, the issuance of the investment certificate for the new investor—Starbay JSC—has been completed a long time ago. Currently, Starbay JSC is in the process of fulfilling the necessary procedures for project deployment. Instead of the expected 520-hectare scale, Bai Dai Resort would only take up 40 hectares.

After nearly 10 years in limbo and a change of investors, the Bai Dai Resort project seemed ready to start but it still hasn’t yet.

Aleader of Phu Quoc Economic Zone Administration told VIR that one of the main reasons of the sluggish deployment of Bai Dai Resort is the difficult site clearance. In their recent meeting with the Kien Giang People’s Committee, Starbay Vietnam has reported numerous difficulties and problems related to the implementation of this project.

Specifically, four households in the area refused compensation to hand over their lands. Relating to this issue, in October last year, the Kien Giang Province People’s Committee asked the Phu Quoc District People’s Committee to persuade these four households to receive compensation and hand over their lands. In case of these households remained adamant until October 30, 2016, the authorities would apply eviction measures. However, as of now, the site has not been cleared.

After the recent meeting with Starbay, chairman of the Kien Giang Province People’s Committee Pham Vu Hong continued to direct the Phu Quoc People’s Committee to strictly implement the decision on site clearance.

While the project stands unimplemented, people raise questions over the identity of Bai Dai Resort’s new investor.

Ms Le Thi Hai Chau is the director cum legal representative of Starbay. She currently holds the position of deputy general director of MIK Group Vietnam Corporation Company Limited and acts as legal representative for numerous other companies, such as Phu My Investment and Construction Limited Company, Khu Dong Real Estate Investment and Trading Company Limited. These are all companies under the umbrella of MIK Group Vietnam.

By Nguyen Duc / VIR