Developer of $2.2 billion Happyland entertainment complex face a massive fine

The investor of $2.2 billion Happyland entertainment complex may pay a massive fine. Source:Tuoitrenews

Nguyen Van Hung, director of the department, told Tuoitrenews that the developer arbitrarily transferred land plots in the Happyland complex as construction took place without a licence.

Previously in March, Phu An was detected to transfer 1,655 land plots with the total area of 27.4 hectares for VND959.7 billion to RRP Vietnam JSC. Then, RRP Vietnam transferred the land use right over these land plots to Minh Phu Long An Co., Ltd., which in turn transferred them to Viet Hung Phat Investment JSC.

The Long An People’s Committee asked Phu An to stop transferring the land plots in the Happyland complex to other firms because it had yet to complete the procedures to receive the construction permit for the project, thus it had no right to put on sale any assets belonging to the project.

The construction of the $2.2-billion Happyland project, located in Thanh Duc commune in Long An’s Ben Luc district began in 2011 with the participation of Joseph Jackson, father of late ‘King of Pop’ Michael Jackson, as the investor of the project.

The project’s construction was expected to be completed in three years to open in 2014 as the largest entertainment complex in Southeast Asia with a combined area of nearly 1,000 hectares.

The park stretches 3.7 kilometres along the Vam Co Dong River in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta region and will have a range of world-class attractions, including a Disneyland and a Universal Studio.

Other notable features included a hot air balloon, a wine castle, Vietnamese cultural villages, film studios, an ancient town, a toy city, and a five-star hotel.

In September 2012, after careful due diligence and discussions with his wife, family, and advisers, Joseph Jackson said he had decided not to proceed with any further investment or be involved in the Happyland complex.

Along with the withdrawal of Joseph Jackson, the construction of the project also missed the schedule. Notably, Happyland was not opened to visitors in 2017, as many facilities were abandoned in the early stages of construction.

With its heavily indebted developer unable to continue, the administration of Long An province ordered the distraint of the project.