S. Korea to build Vietnam's resort

S. Korea to build Vietnam's resort

HANOI (AFP): Vietnam has authorized a South Korean firm to
build a US$290-million tourist resort on a former prison island
off the country's southern coast, a report said yesterday.

PMC Jinwon Co. Ltd is to join with Con Dao Marine Product and
Import Export Co. and the Vietnam Air Service Co. (VASCO) to
build a complex that will include a 250-room hotel on the island
of Con Dao.

The island was once a French penal colony known as Paulo
Condore and several top Vietnamese leaders were jailed there. Its
prisons, including the notorious "Tiger Cages" were closed in
1975 after the communist takeover but a museum remains.

The joint venture, Conson Andass Octies, is to begin work on
the hotel in June, the Saigon Times Daily said. A special ferry
service will link the island to the southern resort of Vung Tau
200 kilometers away. Currently most visitors take charter flights
from Ho Chi Minh City.