Bintan Resorts Launches New IR Development Site At Lagoi Bay

Source : The Business Times Aug 04, 2007

Spread over roughly 1,300 hectares, the 130 land parcels will allow for resort, residential and commercial investment purposes.

BINTAN Resorts has launched a new integrated resort (IR) development site at Lagoi Bay, spread over roughly 1,300 hectares. The 130 land parcels there, ranging from 2000 sq m to 30 hectares, will allow for resort, residential and commercial investment purposes.

According to the developers, visitor arrival to Bintan island is expected to treble to reach one million by 2012, which they say increases the potential for investors to generate significant returns.

Tourism projects in Singapore such as the Gardens on the Bay as well as the two integrated resorts are also expected to boost tourism flow into Bintan due to its close proximity to Singapore.

'Bintan is well-positioned to tap the more than nine million leisure and business visitors who come to Singapore annually,' said Chin Chow Yoon, vice-president-director of PT Bintan Resort Cakrawala, developers of Lagoi Bay.

'This number is expected to reach 17 million by 2015.'

Bintan Resorts is the result of a joint agreement signed by the Singapore and Indonesian governments in 1990, aimed at developing the northern part of the island into a key tourist attraction.

Currently, travelling time from Singapore to Bintan is 55 minutes, a period which the developers are looking to reduce considerably with the planned upgrading of the ferry and terminal amenities.

The construction of a private tourist airport is also in the pipeline, which is primarily aimed at increasing the number of Indonesians visiting Bintan Resorts. More than $150 million has already been spent on providing the infrastructure necessary for the Lagoi bay development.

PT Bintan Resort Cakrawala has also been responsible for developing the rest of the Bintan Resorts area, which covers more than 17,500 hectares. The company has extensive experience in resort development, operations, infrastructure development and management.

It is also a subsidiary of the Singapore-listed firm, Gallant Venture.

Mr Chin also said that there already has been a high level of interest in Lagoi Bay from potential investors from Singapore as well as the Middle East, with almost 25 per cent of saleable land available already being reserved.