MGM Mirage to Anchor $4B Development in Vietnam

LAS VEGAS-An MGM Mirage-branded resort will anchor a $4.2-billion integrated beachfront resort complex being developed in southwest Vietnam by Asian Coast Development Ltd., a Toronto-based company in which New York City-based Harbinger Capital has a stake. ACDL and MGM Mirage announced the news Tuesday, saying the first phase of the development will consist of a Greg Norman-designed golf course and MGM Ho Tram, an 1,100-room resort with gaming, retail, convention and entertainment venues.

MGM Ho Tram is under construction and slated for completion in 2011, the duo said. ACDL will own and finance the project while MGM Mirage will provide development assistance, brand equity, and will operate the property upon completion. Beyond the number of rooms the details of the resorts components, such as their square footages, were not available because they have “not yet been finalized,” an MGM representative tells GlobeSt.com. A rendering of the development also was unavailable.

The overall development plan calls for 10,000 rooms in five resorts on the so-called Ho Tram Strip, a 430-acre area that includes 1.4-mile stretch of white-sand beachfront and forest in Xuyen Moc, Ba Ria Vung Tau Province, eighty miles from Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon). Only plans for MGM Ho Tram have been announced. If completed, it would be the largest tourism complex in Vietnam, competing with integrated resorts in neighboring China, Malaysia and Singapore. The company reportedly received its casino license in March and, as part of the agreement, will invest in infrastructure improvements such as an airport, a ferry terminal and highways.