A graphic image of the Sonasea Dragon Bay project

The large-scale tourism projects include the Sonasea Dragon Bay tourism complex in Ha Long commune worth five trillion VND (219.2 million USD) of the CEO Group, the Furama Ha Long Viet Nam Resort & Villas worth 1.12 trillion VND (49.11 million USD) invested by Viglacera corporation and a tourism complex and heritage road in Van Don, which will be built at an estimated investment of five trillion VND (219.2 million USD).

A luxury resort and entertainment complex on Ngoc Vung island of FLC Group will also be launched, with investment of 46 trillion VND (2.02 billion USD), as well as a project on urban and port areas in northern Cai Bau island costing about 3.5 trillion VND (153.55 million USD).

Upon their completion, the projects are expected to create a foundation for the development of the Van Don Special Administrative - Economic Unit, along with other projects of the province, including the Hai Phong - Ha Long - Van Don expressway and Van Don international airport.

The Van Don special administrative-economic unit project defines its key industries as tourism-service, industry and agriculture. In the first phase (2018-2022), the project will focus on casino entertainment tourism, seaport, aviation, trade, international shopping centres, innovation technology, and start-up centres, while the second phase (2023-2026) will feature parks, fisheries, aquatic processing, logistics services, education and training, financial services, and healthcare. The third phase of the project (2027-2030) will aim at biological technology, green technology, and hi-tech agriculture.

Van Don is a district comprising more than 600 islands. It is approximately 175 km from Ha Noi, 80 km from the northern port city of Hai Phong and 50 km from Ha Long city. It boasts rich ecosystems, beautiful beaches and islands, with potential to become a world-class maritime tourism destination.

The government has decided to initially develop three special administrative - economic units – Van Don in northern Quang Ninh province, Bac Van Phong in central Khanh Hoa province and Phu Quoc in southern Kien Giang province.

Special administrative-economic units are magnets for investment, high technology and advanced management modes, aiming to form a high growth area that accelerates local economic restructuring and development.

The Ministry of Planning and Investment, which is in charge of drafting the Law on Special Administrative-Economic Units, expects that with preferential incentives, the three special zones will attract investment worth dozens of billions of dollars, generating huge sums in terms of added value.

It estimated that the special zones will contribute billions of US dollars in taxes and fees to the State budget.

Viet Nam has 17 coastal economic zones, 26 border economic zones and 328 industrial zones, which altogether have attracted some 153 billion USD investment, accounting for 52 percent of registered foreign direct investment in Vietnam, created three million jobs and contributing 42 percent to industrial production and 52 percent of exports.

Quang Ninh province aims to welcome 15 million tourists, comprising 7 million foreigners, and earn 30 trillion - 40 trillion VND (1.3 billion - 1.76 billion USD) in tourism revenue by 2020.

In 2016, the province received 8.3 million tourist arrivals, a year-on-year increase of seven percent, raking in over 13 trillion VND (571 million USD) in revenue, up 23 percent, according to the provincial Department of Tourism.