Phu Yen is looking for its place in the sun

In September, the province will inaugurate a new terminal at Tuy Hoa airport that has throughput capacity of 550,000 people per year. This new terminal will bring Phu Yen closer to tourists, who used to feel difficult in travelling to the province.

In addition, a tunnel through Cu Mong mountain pass is under the construction, making transportation from Khanh Hoa province, home to Nha Trang Bay, to Phu Yen more convenient.

“The biggest challenge for tourism development in Phu Yen is poor transportation network. But this problem is going to be removed. We are now calling for investors in the tourism sector,” said Tran Quang Nhat, Vice Chairman of Phu Yen Provincial People’s Committee. “We consider tourism a priority for provincial economic growth.”

Bordering with Binh Dinh in the north and Khanh Hoa in the south, Phu Yen owns a wealth of wild, sandy beaches, including Bai Xep, Bai Tram, Bai Mon-Mui Dien, Xuan Dai Bay, Vung Ro Bay and O Loan Lagoon.  It could be described as the last long stretch of undeveloped sandy beaches in Vietnam.

The beauty of Phu Yen could explain why Sama Dubai, a member and a subsidiary of the United Arab Emirates’s Dubai Holding, considered investing billions of dollar to build luxury resorts in Xuan Dai Bay and O Loan Lagoon a few years ago. The developer discussed the project with the local authorities for about three years before Sama Dubai withdrew because of the global financial crisis.

“In three years negotiating with Sama Dubai, we could not call for other foreign investors to develop these beautiful sites,” said Nhat.

But now, Nhat revealed, a famous domestic hospitality and property developer is studying the opportunity to invest in O Loan Lagoon, which could be a break-through for the development of Phu Yen.

Brunei-headquartered New City Vietnam Company, in 2008, gained an investment certificate for a $4.3 billion project that would cover 565 hectares of land along a sandy, wild beach in Bai Xep area, comprising of three 4-star hotels with 900 rooms and four 5 star-hotels with 2,250 rooms. In addition to that, the investor will build other facilities like villas, residential areas, a diving zone, a sport centre, a water park, a commercial area, office buildings, a golf course, electronic gaming services and a healthcare centre.

Although the developer has not started the construction yet because of slow pace of site clearance, it is committed  to pursuing this project.

In developing its tourism sector, Phu Yen maps out a plan for luring around 900,000 tourists by 2015.