THE first casino to be built in Kampot province is slated to open on the Cambodian border with Vietnam this September.

The nine-storey Ha Tien Casino and Resort is being built about 300 metres from the Prek Chak international border, said the governor for Kampot's Kampong Trach district, Um Sinath.

“This is the first casino in Kampot. It will open in September. Currently, 90 percent of construction has been completed,” he said yesterday.

The governor welcomed the casino’s opening as an opportunity to boost employment and tourism in the area.

“It will bring a hundred jobs to people in the district,” he said.

Construction on the complex, which was born of a joint venture between an American company and a Cambodian investor, started in early 2009, he said.

“I cannot say exactly how much it cost to invest in the casino, but it’s around US$100 million,” he said.

Lao Tip Seiha, director for the department of construction at the Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction, said that the plan was first approved in 2008.

Although Ha Tien is the province’s first casino, said Lao Tip Seiha, it won’t be the last.

The Sokha hotel group is currently building a casino complex on Bokor mountain, close to the provincial capital of Kampot.

According to the Ministry of Economy and Finance, Cambodia’s revenue derived from casinos was US$17.5 million in 2009.