>> Two-thirds of golf course projects involve in realty business
Ho Chi Minh City authorities have approved a 1/500 scale blueprint for a USD300-million golf course, luxury resort and housing complex in Tan Son Nhat International Airport.
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| The blueprint of Tan Son Nhat Golf Course project |
The project would cover 157 hectares, with 111 hectares earmarked for the golf course, with the remaining area set aside for a 5-star hotel, restaurants, lakes and building complex.
Luxury villas and apartments for rent, high-class kindergartens and secondary schools are also part of the plan.
All the facilities will be located within the 820ha Tan Binh District-located Tan Son Nhat Airport area which is managed by the Defence Ministry.
Tran Van Tinh, Deputy Chairman of the Long Bien Investment Corporation was cited by Tuoi Tre as saying that, the project had been approved by the government in 2007 and was expected to be completed by June 2013.
The project aims to effectively exploit a prime plot of land that had been "left unoccupied for several years," Tinh said, noting that the project was expected to create 500 jobs and would also create revenue for the city.
Responding to whether the golf course and its adjacent facilities would affect the operation of the airport, Thinh confirmed that a buffer would be created between the project area and the airport’s runway.
Wasted land
According to the Vietnam News Agency, Ho Chi Minh City already has six licensed golf courses covering nearly 1,000ha, but only one of these has become operational in the period since 1995. Four remain at site clearance stage and one has had its investment license revoked.
The municipal Department of Natural Resources and Environment said the availability of local agricultural suburban land had sharply dropped over the past 15 years, citing the planned golf courses as one of the causes.
Up to over half of area of the city’s golf courses are planned for services, including restaurants, shopping centres, apartments for rent, and entertainment areas.
According to a report by Ministry of Planning and Investment, up to two-thirds of Vietnam’s 90 authorised golf course projects are also involved in real estate and tourism resorts.
Among those, 46 golf courses that have been licensed face delays due to slow procedures and pace of construction, while many lack suitable detailed planning.
Just 24 projects have entered operation, with five others facing a loss of their investment licenses.
