VNBusinessNews – Winvest Investment Vietnam Limited Company, the developer of the Saigon Atlantis Hotel project in Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province, is seen facing construction delays due to slow land clearance, said a company executive.

The company got an investment certificate early this month to invest over US$4 billion, up from the originally planned US$300 million, in the project.

At an investment certificate award ceremony in Vung Tau City on February 3, Peter Luu, chairman of Winvest LLC, told the Daily that the company planned to begin work on the five-star hotel with 8,000 guest rooms early this year.

Tran Van Son, deputy managing director of the company, said on Monday: “We cannot start construction of this project because the province hasn’t handed over ready land to us.” The province’s Department of Natural Resources and Environment has difficulty relocating four families in Ward 11 in Vung Tau City where the project will be developed on over 300 hectares of land and over 600 hectares of sea surface.

The project was originally licensed in April 2006, but the project developer failed to get the project off the ground since then, Son said.

He added the company had proposed making a one-off payment of land rent for a period of 50 years so that the province can have funds to speed up site clearance. The company has already spent nearly US$6 million on land rent prepayment.

The company will also develop amusement park for adults and children, shopping center, hospital, villas, and conference centers. “We expect to complete all the components of the project within six years from now if land is ready on schedule,” Son said.

The province’s Department of Natural Resources and Environment has promised to hand over some 100 hectares of land to the company by the end of this month, and the remainder within the second quarter of this year.

As observed by the Daily early this week in Vung Tau City, several other projects in the province are also facing slow site clearance problems. (SGT)