Vietnam’s largest conglomerate Vingroup has selected Clayton, DeVries & Pont (CDP) to design two new 18-hole golf courses on the banks of Ha Long Bay, a Unesco World Heritage Site in the northeast of Vietnam.

The golf courses will sit within a massive new US$10 billion urban complex, Ha Long Xanh, that spans 9,000 hectares and is expected to become home to 240,000 people.

The golf project will be led by Mike DeVries who will be comprehensively supported by Hendrik Hilgert. Several other team members, including Mike Clayton and Frank Pont, will also be on site during construction.

“I have visited Vietnam several times in the past 15 years,” said DeVries. “I love the country and its people and am pleased that I and my colleagues will now have the opportunity to deliver courses in one of its most famous and beautiful regions. The intention is to design two excellent golf courses which will be enjoyable for all golfers and could also serve as a venue for a professional tournament should that ever be of interest.”

“Our team started liaising with our counterparts at Vingroup in January,” said Hilgert. “Our initial plans are already well advanced.”

“We are delighted to be undertaking the partnership’s first project on the Asian continent in Vietnam, a country whose population is embracing the game of golf at a quite staggering rate,” said Edward Cartwright, chairman of CDP. “We are honoured to be working for Vingroup, whose Vinpearl and Vinhomes subsidiaries will be overseeing the development of Ha Long Xanh’s main facilities.”