Government okays three more golf courses in northern #Vietnam

Three golf course projects worth VND3 trillion ($129 million) in the northern provinces of Bac Giang and Hoa Binh have been approved.

Under an investment plan approved by Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung, a 36-hole golf course will be laid in Bac Giang’s Viet Yen District, covering an area of 14 hectares. It will be built by the Truong An Golf Investment JSC at an estimated cost of over VND1.2 trillion ($51.6 million).

Another 36-hole golf course and resort will be built in Bac Giang by Truong An Luc Nam Golf JSC on an area of 140 hectares. The project, with a total investment of VND739 billion ($31.8 million) will be located in Luc Nam District.

The third project involving a golf course will be constructed on an area of 188 hectares in Ky Son District, Hoa Binh Province by the An Viet Hoa Binh Golf JSC with a total capital of over $1.13 trillion ($48.6 million).

All three projects will have a 50-year operational license.

According to a government decision in 2009, Vietnam planned to have 89 golf courses by 2020. But so far according to the Ministry of Planning and Investment, only 30 have been built and put into operation, and many of these are reportedly not doing well.

Source - VN Express

Tiger Woods says travel concerns led him to skip Saudi event

Tiger Woods's decision not to play the European Tour's inaugural Saudi International was based on a desire to limit his travel, the 14-time major champion said Wednesday.

"I haven't really played a lot overseas and I turned the opportunity to go to Saudi Arabia down last summer," Woods told reporters on the eve of the US PGA Tour's Genesis Open.

The tournament and players who opted to go to came in for criticism because of the country's human rights record, and especially the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Saudi Arabia's Istanbul consulate in June.

Woods indicated his decision had nothing to do with politics, saying it was made "well before anything had transpired".

"I just think, I'm trying to keep the traveling down to a minimum and just focus on our tour," Woods said.

Source - TheJakartaPost

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