Paradise Eco Resort: 13 years on the drawing board
Paradise Eco Resort: 13 years on the drawing board
Expected to provide a fulcrum to foster tourism development in Quang Ngai province’s southern and northern parts, the multi-million dollar Thien Dang (Paradise) eco resort project is still far from completion, even 13 years after starting construction.
The Paradise eco resort project spreads more than two kilometres along the coast crossing Quang Nam and Quang Ngai province in the central region.
The developer, privately-held Paradise Investment JSC—now South Chu Lai Investment and Development JSC—, expects the project to tap into the growing visitor and investor numbers from Chu Lai Airport in Quang Nam province as well as workers, engineers, and experts working at the Dung Quat and Chu Lai coastal economic zones.
In the current tourism season in the central region, the eco resort has yet to attract any visitors. In the villa area, several French-style villas have not yet been constructed yet, whereas some completed villas are already showing signs of degradation.
Some buildings, once used to host meetings and banquet occasions, have been unused for a long time and local residents have been using this area to breed cattle.
Doan Trung Nam, a resident living near the project, said: “When the project is entered the development pipeline, the investor said they will employ local labourers to on it. The project was then halted and left deserted, leaving the affected people struggling to make a living.”
Cao Thi Hong, neighbour to Nam, added that some people have been using the unused space in the eco resort for agricultural production or cattle and poultry breeding.
According to Le Tan Khanh, Deputy Chairman of Binh Thanh commune in Quang Ngai province’s Binh Son District, where the project is located, Paradise resort is set to use more than 106ha space in the commune.
The project developer, however, has just completed the first phase of compensation for more than 32ha space.
Regarding the remaining 74ha space, the developer did not cooperate with the commune administration, but has made compensation directly to local households.
At present, 19 out of the 74ha has yet to receive compensation as the developer could not reach a consensus with the households, which is one of the reasons behind the project’s delay.
Another cause is the current financial distress as committed by Phan Van Hai, a developer representative
The developer, therefore, asked the provincial management authorities for support in site clearance and compensation payment for the remaining space that has yet to be handed over to them.
A good news for the project, as unveiled by the project representative, was that several investors from South Korea, Malaysia, and Singapore plan to cooperate to develop a mixed-use development, including condotel and casino components, at the project site.
With respect to the developers’ proposals, Quang Ngai Party Secretary Le Viet Chu has recently asked the developer to soon make commitments and set the project’s targets and land requirements.
The developer was also required to draw up the investment project’s revised supplemental planning that fits the actual situation and submit it to the province’s management authorities for consideration.
The Paradise eco resort project was first licensed in 2005 with nearly VND200 billion ($8.8 million) in registered capital.
In late 2017, the project’s total investment capital was scaled up to nearly VND8 trillion ($354 million).
The project consists of five components: Paradise in the Fall, Paradise in Summer, Paradise in Winter, Paradise in Spring, and Four Seasons Paradise. At present, work has only been completed at the Four Seasons Paradise component that takes up more than 32ha space, while the other four components are sitting on the drawing board.
