Legend Island’ Draws $1 Billion Tourism Project

Khmer Times/Sok Chan

Sunday, 24 January 2016

About $1 billion will be invested to transform Koh Tang – “Legend Island” – into a luxury destination for domestic and international tourists, with resorts, hotels, a theme park, golf course and airport, executives said at the signing ceremony for a memorandum of understand (MoU) for the project on Friday.

The island is about 50 kilometers off the coast of Preah Sihanouk province and its only inhabitants are soldiers, officials and executives said. 
The development will be a joint venture between Monarch Investment, a subsidiary of WorldBridge Group, and China-based Nanshan Group, Sear Rithy, chairman of WorldBridge said at Friday’s signing ceremony. Construction will begin at the end of this year, he said.

The 550 hectare island is most famous globally as the last site of conflict involving US troops during the Vietnam War, as well as a massacre of its Vietnamese inhabitants by the Khmer Rouge and a botched – and fatal – effort by US forces to free the crew of a US container ship seized by the Khmer Rouge in 1975, which was not even on the island. 

“This island development will cost nearly $1 billion,” Mr. Rithy said. He added that a thorough master plan had been developed, but due to the complexity of the project Monarch Investment and WorldBridge decided to enter a joint venture with Nanshan Group. “This company has experience and expertise in real estate, tourism and other necessary sectors to develop Koh Tang,” Mr. Rithy said. 

Sok Chanda Sophea, secretary general of the Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC), said the council had consulted with private companies and relevant stakeholders before granting a license to develop the island. Both the government and the companies involved have already studied the environmental impacts of the project, and are confident any damage from the massive development can be avoided.

“They have to preserve the forest, fishing areas, and we have asked the company to provide the master plan because this island also has a military base,” Mr. Sophea said. 

“The CDC has studied the plans for this island investment, and now it has passed through the CDC,” he said, adding that the MoU will allow construction to start soon.

“I strongly believe these two companies are eager to start this project soon,” Mr. Rithy said.

Tourism Minister Thong Khon said during the opening of a three-day sea festival in December in Kampot last year that Cambodia’s beaches had attracted nearly a half million tourists over the first nine months of the year, a rise of more than 15 percent from the same period in 2014.

Ho Vandy, president of travel agency World Express Tour, told Khmer Times late last month that he welcomed new development on islands but said that since the government began granting concessions to private companies to develop 20 islands seven years ago, very little had happened. 

“Concessions have been granted for more than 20 islands since 2008, but few developments are in progress or active,” Mr. Vandy said. He added that development of Cambodia’s islands could draw more tourists, conserve nature with benefits local communities.  

Late last month, Preah Sihanouk province also saw a ground-breaking ceremony for a $20 million luxury residential project on Koh Rong (Monkey Island). It is a joint venture between Cambodian conglomerate Royal Group, owned by media and telecom tycoon Kith Meng, and Travel Group Asian Trails. The development is situated on an expansive beach on Cambodia’s largest island, and is scheduled to be completed by the end of the year. Royal Sands Koh Rong will have more than 60 houses and villas. Koh Rong is about 25 kilometers off the coast of Preah Sihanouk. A master plan for developing and preserving Cambodia’s coast is in its final stages, officials said earlier this month.