Rusalka resort set to finally see light of day

The prime minister has given the green light to Khanh Hoa People’s Committee and Rus-Invest-Tur Corporation, the former developer of the 43.8-hectare Rusalka resort, to completely liquidate the project.

Rusalka resort’s construction drew to a halt in 2005 when Nguyen Duc Chi, ex-chairman of Rus-Invest-Tur Corporation, found himself enmeshed in a scandal over unpaid rice bills and faked signatures.

After Chi’s arrest, the resort was mothballed and saw its licence revoked in 2006. Now, with the prime minister’s go ahead, the project can be completely liquidated.

A new developer will be granted a new licence for construction of the unfinished Rusalka resort and inherit all the obligations and responsibilities related to the project. These include compensating residents who have recovered land in the project’s site, paying taxes and fees for local authorities and paying out the debts of the project’s former owner.

Vo Tan Thai, director of the provincial Department of Planning and Investment, said: “We don’t care who the new developer of the Rusalka is. It can be a domestic or foreign firm, [or] a large or small firm. We only hope that the new developer will carry out all commitments set out in the licence.”

“The delay of the project has proved very costly – not just for the developers who wasted a fortune – but also for the hundreds of households with recovered land in the project’s site who have not received compensation and who were forced be abandon their land and houses and earned money in other areas.

“We will create the best conditions for the new developer to put soon the Rusalka resort into operation,” said Thai.

This all comes as sweet music to ears of the ex-chairman of Rus-Invest-Tur Corporation who was sentenced to five and a half years in prison in 2008 after buying 31,400 tonnes of rice from Tra Vinh Food Company and failing to pay $5.7 million. Chi also forged signatures and documents to obtain a licence to develop Rusalka resort.

When he was released from prison early this year Chi sent a proposal to Khanh Hoa People’s Committee asking for approval to transfer his stake at Rusalka resort to Nha Trang Focus Tourism Investment, the firm backed by a group of people, including his younger brother.

Besides petitioning to be allowed to take over the Rusalka project, Nha Trang Focus also asked to change the project’s name to be “Champarama Resort and Spa.”

“I sincerely repent and desire to complete the project soon as atonement for my mistakes in the past,” said Chi.

Thai said that at the time the province did not decide who would be the new developer of Rusalka project. However, the new developer could face difficulty in negotiating with Chi over the transfer price of the project. “The property still belongs to Chi. He has the right to set the project’s price,” said Thai.