New residential towers for Ho Tram Strip

The Ho Tram Project Company (HTP), a wholly-owned local subsidiary of US-invested Asian Coast Development Limited (ACDL) which specialises in developing integrated resorts, recently signed a memorandum of understanding with Vietnamese construction giant Coteccons to develop a series of new residential towers over 164ha of the project space.

The MoU sees the companies agree to the development of several towers containing between 700 and 900 condominiums, depending on the configuration chosen by customers.

“We have long been focused on making Ho Tram Strip an exciting and accessible destination for visitors from near and far,” said Michael Kelly, HTP’s executive chairman, adding that the investors’ strong commitment had enabled the company to move quickly in building the next phase of the Ho Tram Strip.

Coteccons’ chairman Nguyen Ba Duong said that the company is considering pouring capital into building the towers together with ACDL. Previous to this MoU, Coteccons limited their scope to the design and construction of various projects on the Ho Tram Strip.

HTP also announced that its first golf-course villa has been completed and sold, and there will follow another 59 similar villas within the same project.

Meanwhile, with the first tower already completed, construction of the 559-room second tower is underway and is slated for completion within 16-18 months. At that time, The Grand Ho Tram will host about 1,100 hotel rooms in total.

The ACDL is also pushing ahead in its efforts to add new leisure amenities to this resort complex. “We have disbursed about $700 million in the project’s investment capital, which will be raised to $1 billion in the time to come. This sum has surpassed the project’s chartered capital and we will expedite the project up to committed progress,” Kelly stressed.

The project’s first-phase development, called The Grand Ho Tram Strip, opened its doors in 2013. This 541-room five-star hotel includes world-class entertainment facilities, restaurants, an exclusive VIP area, and three swimming pools, as well as a variety of beachfront recreation activities. Adjacent to The Grand, the 18-hole Greg Norman-designed championship golf course – The Bluffs – opened for play in early 2014.

The casino area is a special highlight of the Ho Tram Strip. With Vietnam considering the opening of many other casinos throughout the country, such as in Van Don, Phu Quoc, or the $4 billion South Hoi An complex (also with a casino), the Ho Tram Strip casino may find itself with some stiff competition, However, Kelly remains unfazed by this prospect. “These new developments are located quite afar from Ho Tram Strip. At present, Ho Tram is the sole casino project in close proximity to big city like Ho Chi Minh City, therefore we are not facing direct competition from other casino developers.”