At his working session with Kien Giang authorities on Nov. 22, PM Dung said the master plan to develop the island by 2010 and towards 2020 is going at a slow pace after four years of implementation, thus failing to tap its potentials.

He asked the Ministry of Construction to coordinate with Kien Giang Province to hire foreign experts for the implementation of infrastructure plans.

He urged relevant ministries to focus investment on constructing main roads on the island. The Phu Quoc International Airport and An Thoi sea port must be completed on schedule and more international air routes should be opened to the island, the PM said.

Regarding power supply, the PM said in the long run, the island will be connected with the power grid on the main land, but in the immediate future, the Vietnam Coal and Minerals Corporation should conduct a feasibility study for building a 100MW thermo-electric power plant to supply power to the island in next two years.

The Phu Quoc island, having another name as Dao Ngoc ( Pearl Island ), for its cultured pearl, gathers great potentials to become a major tourist centre of the country.

Located in southwestern Kien Giang Province, 45km from the mainland, the 565sq.km island owns 32,000 ha of primeval forests, beautiful and clean beaches, and undamaged coral reefs. One of its beaches, named Bai Dai (Long Beach), has been chosen by the ABC News as one of five beautiful and clean beaches, but rarely known in the world.