HCMC

In late 2007 2 local firms announced plans for a USD$187 million eco-­tourism, residential, commercial and cultural project covering 423 hectares in HCMC's Binh Chanh District modelled after the Disneyland theme parks. HCMC based CT Group,will cooperate with the Saigon Agriculture Corp to develop the project which was first approved by the Government a decade ago. The partners will set up a 75/25 JV com­pany, in which CT Group would hold a 75% stake, to deploy the project at Vinh Loc A, Vinh Long B and Pham Van Hai Communes comprising an 80­ hectare lake, a 100 hectare en­tertainment park, a 30 hect­are film studio, a department store, a complex of golf, ten­nis, swimming and yacht fa­cilities plus a resort and an apartment area. The project would turn the barren land in Binh Chanh into a theme park by 2015 and the 1^st Phase of the project includes a lake with water sports, swimming, pools, an artificial sea and a hi-end re­sort. CT Group has signed up with Malaysia's Lion Group, Sunway, Parkson and Hong Kong's Swire, and the US ­based MGM to join the project. MGM is the second biggest entertainment firm in the US while Sunway runs some cultural, eco-tourist and entertainment parks in Malaysia. They hope that the project will be developed into an international tourist park like the Disneyland theme park as a destination for tourists