(VEN) - In May 2010, the Prime Minister approved the adjusted overall planning scheme for Phu Quoc Island, Kien Giang Province to 2030. Ngo Quang Hung, the director of the Southern Sub-Institute of Urban and Rural Planning and head of the adjustment plan, said that the overall plan had been adjusted to ensure the sustainable development of Phu Quoc Island and the continued protection of the maritime and forest ecosystem.

Under the overall planning scheme, Phu Quoc will promote urban development to form a multi-center chain of urban areas. This is an ideal development model with minimum impact on the natural environment. The main road axis in Phu Quoc will run around the island and be connected to An Thoi International Seaport, Bai Dat Do Tourist Site and Duong To International Airport. The township of Duong Dong will be the central urban area of Phu Quoc Island. It will be developed as an administrative, public service, trade, international finance, cultural and tourism service center. The Cua Can Urban Area will become a scientific research, education and training center. The An Thoi Urban Area will concentrate on developing seaports, trade and services. In the western part of Phu Quoc Island, eco-tourism and traditional craft villages will be developed. In the western part, agriculture will be developed along with efforts to protect natural landscapes. In the north, attention will be focused on forest conservation, eco-tourism and craft village and hi-tech agriculture development. In the south, efforts will be made to promote mixed tourism, build seaport urban areas and an international airport, conserve preventive forests and specialized parks and build a Phu Quoc Prison memorial area.

Van Ha Phong, the secretary of the Communist Party Committee and chairman of the People's Committee of Phu Quoc District, said that so far planning schemes scaled at 1/2,000 have been made for all 13 tourist sites on the island, many of which have been allowed to be planned at the scale of 1/500. Thanks to its proximity to the urban centers of other countries in Southeast Asia as well as the quality of the local beaches, Phu Quoc has attracted large amounts of investment capital to boost tourism, trade and urban development. Thus far, 52 investment projects in Phu Quoc have been licensed with total registered capital of more than VND43 trillion. Of those, seven tourism projects have come into operation with examples including Berjaya Long Beach, Veranda, Cataco and Miramar. In the recent period, the leaders of Kien Giang Province and Phu Quoc District in particular have paid special attention to calling for investment. The research project which aims to conserve and develop tomentose rose myrtle on an area of 200ha in Ham Ninh Commune is one of the efforts to make Phu Quoc a tourist paradise with distinctive products. Under this project, Phu Quoc will establish a tomentose rose myrtle research and development center and promote the planting of this kind of tree on forest and garden soil as well as the transfer of planting techniques, varieties and fertilizer to farmers and ensure that their products can find markets.

Phu Quoc will also provide fishermen with more assistance to develop their trade. Van Ha Phong said that currently Phu Quoc has more than 3,300 fishing boats with total capacity of 145,000CV, capable of catching 90,000-100,000 tonnes of seafood each year. However, most of those boats are small in size and used to catch seafood just off shore, with only 550 boats having capacity of 45CV or higher. Therefore, Phu Quoc District is providing fishermen with assistance in terms of capital to help them upgrade the fishing fleet to promote deep sea seafood catching. The district will also boost fish sauce production and increase the presence of the product on the world market. Currently, more than 100 fish sauce production facilities are operational in Phu Quoc with annual output of more than 10 million liters. Fish sauce production facilities in Phu Quoc District are planned to be concentrated in two areas: Ben Tram (for fish sauce makers in Duong Dong) and Cau Sau (for those in An Thoi). Phu Quoc will also promote intensive investment in pepper plantations totaling 500ha.

Ngo Quang Hung affirmed that if the adjusted overall planning scheme is implemented properly, Phu Quoc Island will become a famous tourist destination and an important financial center.