Vietnam-based property developer Sun Group, whose projects include Ba Na Hills and luxurious resorts in the central city of Da Nang, has reportedly taken over the development of $800 million Van Don Airport, in northern Quang Ninh province.
Vietnamnet Bridge, a domestic media outlet, cited the deputy director of the Quang Ninh Provincial Economic Zones Management Authority Trinh Van Hong, saying that the the investor of this project (Van Don Airport) was the Sun Group.
Previously, the province had granted the investment license to Korean-funded Joinus Land Development and Investment, which was established under the laws of Vietnam to implement projects inside the country, particularly in Quang Ninh’s Van Don island.
However, it was said that Joinus was slow in execution.
Both Sun Group and Joinus were not immediately available for comment.
Pham Minh Chinh, Secretary of the Quang Ninh Provincial Party Committee, reportedly said that the building of the airport would be started this quarter.
Meanwhile, on the website of Joinus , which is a consortium of Korean investors, (website) is still showing that it is the bidder. Specifically, the $800 million project with an annual capacity of 6.6 million passengers is stated to “support local economic development and promote northeast area”.
In August, Joinus announced to have raised essential finance for the Van Don International Airport, securing funding from an Australian investor. “If Sun Group invests, it will scale down the Van Don project to develop it as a domestic airport. Currently, the group is studying feasibility of the investment,” Vietnamnet Bridge cited Hong.
Sun Group is currently executing two large resort complex projects worth a total of $446 million in the province; both are expected to be completed by 2019.
With the province’s target to boost investment in Van Don Economic Zone, Sun Group CEO Dang Minh Truong has reported to have said, earlier, that Quang Ninh was among the most opened places to investors.
In the mean time, the authorities noted that the Van Don Airport was a key project, paving the way for the development of the economic zone as well as tourism in the province.