A two-stage tourism project to develop the Bang Hot Springs in central Quang Binh Province has been transferred from a state-run construction company over to another investor by local authorities.
The 820-hectare thermal spring area in Kim Thuy Commune, located nearly 60 kilometers from the province’s Dong Hoi Town, encompasses a two-kilometer-long hot spring surrounded by a tranquil forest.
The thermal spring features special hot spots where water temperature reaches up to 105 Celsius degrees.
COSEVCO Mineral Water and Tourism Co., under Midland Construction Corp., inaugurated the Bang Sanatorium and Ecotourism Resort in January 2004 after completing the first stage of construction costing VND5 billion (US$312,900).
The company, however, was slow to implement the second stage with a registered investment of VND45 billion ($2.82 million).
Furthermore, it under-invested in facilities comprised of poor-quality rooms and bath pools.
As a result, the provincial People’s Committee decided to reclaim the land in 2005 and put out a notice for interested property investors.
Local authorities subsequently assigned the investment license of the renovation project for the resort worth VND200 billion ($12.52 million) to the Dong Duong Company at the end of last year.
Ngo Dinh Quan, head of Dong Duong branch in Quang Binh Province, said “We will renew the ecotourism area and build other subsections reserved for sports, gastronomy, and an ethnic minority village.
Hot mineral water is believed to be beneficial in promoting health and treating several types of cutaneous illness.
Quang Binh is well-known among local and foreign tourists thanks to the Phong Nha-Ke Bang Natural Reserve which was recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 2003.
Reported by Kien Giang