Head of the Office of Khanh Hoa Provincial People's Committee, Nguyen Thanh Ha, told VietNamNet that the Khanh Ha Investment Company would return the management responsibilities of the five villas soon to the local goverment.

According to Ha, the local authorities will seek investors to restore the works, which will be then handed over to the local Department of Culture and Sports to manage and preserve.

The villas were built in 1923 on 12 hectares on Canh Long Mountain by the French as accommodation for researchers working at the Nha Trang Oceanography Institute. From 1940 to 1945, King Bao Dai and his wife visited the area frequently, which led to the adoption of the name Bao Dai’s villas. The villas are now a tourist attraction in Nha Trang.

In 2013, Khanh Ha Investment Company was given the licence to develop the Bao Dai Resort Nha Trang project on a total area of 13.60 hectares including the five villas. The company, however, failed to carry out the project which was then suspended.

Bao Dai (1913-1997) was the last king to rule over Vietnam. He had many holiday retreats scattered all over the country. Many of them in Sapa, Dalat, Vung Tau, Nha Trang, etc have become famous tourist attractions.

Xuan Ngoc