Archipelago-wide tourism sector development has received a fresh boost following Grand Wie Sukses Properti (GWS) plans to develop water villa resorts in Bintan, Riau, to cater to foreign and domestic visitors.
The groundbreaking ceremony is scheduled to take place next month, while an end-date is not yet known. The ceremony is the start of construction for two villa projects – the Avara and Mangata.
Bintan’s natural beauty is renowned as matching that of the Maldives, one of the world’s top tourist destinations, and GWS is set to spend Rp.3.5 trillion (US$265 million) in developing water villa resorts.
“For project Avara, 40 hectares area would be used to build the resorts. This would be located in the shoreline. While project Mangata is to build water villa resorts in the middle of the sea. Project Mangata would also use 40 hectares for the resorts,” Oey said.
“The preliminary step is to focus on Avara Resorts, the total budget is set to be Rp.1.4 trillion (US$105 million), while we would spend Rp.1.1 trillion (US$82 million) for Mangata water villa resorts.”
GWS is taking inspiration from Port Dickson, Malaysia, and the Maldives with an elegant design for the water villa resorts.
A reclamation project will provide the land for the resorts, with the developer confident construction will not damage the environment with Oey calling the project ‘eco-friendly.’
“The project is guaranteed to be eco-friendly hence we would work with ChinaPower to develop the mega projects”, said Oey.
The project, to be developed in partnership with ChinaPower, is set to create 3,000 workers and boost sales for local small to medium enterprises.
“Because our concept is to build an integrated tourism area we should improve the welfare of the people,” Oey added.
Minister of Tourism Arief Yahya supports the project and hopes it will see the region reach its full potential.
“Its sea is world-class, ideal for tourism. If the water villa resorts are built to a global standard, I’m sure Bintan, which is famous among Singaporeans, would be even more successful,” the minister said.
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Image credits: TripCanvas