Notorious Vietnam prison gets posh resort

HANOI (Reuters) - A four-star beach resort is being built on Vietnam's notorious Con Dao prison island as part of the government's drive to lure visitors to off-beat sites including the disputed Spratlys.


More than 20,000 Vietnamese have died on Con Dao, which was first used by French colonialists in 1861 and later by American forces until the the end of the Vietnam War. It has not been used as a prison since 1975.


U.S. investment firm Indochina Capital Corp expects to break ground on a 60-room resort on the island, 230 km (426 nautical miles) south of Ho Chi Minh City, later this year, said Peter Ryder, managing director of the firm.


"We continue to look for unique, special opportunities, and Con Dao clearly fits that mould," he told Reuters on Monday. The resort, which will supplement smaller hotels on the island, is expected to receive its first guests in late 2006.


Local authorities are aggressively revamping Con Dao's image, aiming to spend more than 365 billion dong through 2010 to transform the island.


The island has more than 20 beaches and a national park, and is served by daily direct flights from Ho Chi Minh City.


Vietnam is also promoting tourism to the Spratly islands, a cluster of dozens of islets, rocks and reefs in an area believed to be rich in energy reserves, that are claimed in whole or part by 6 countries.


Against the protests of several claimants including China and the Philippines, Hanoi sent a navy ship carrying dozens of the first tourists to the Spratlys in April and plans to build an airport in the area to receive more visitors.