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The Royal Group, a Cambodian business conglomerate, is to create Asia's first environmentally-planned resort island, with a view to attracting high-end international tourism on the country's coastline.

The Royal Group, which already owns hotels and resorts in the region, is setting its sights on transforming the country's tourism industry, which until now has almost exclusively depended on the attraction of the world famous Angkor Wat.

The scheme is to develop the island of Koh Rong, 30 minutes by boat from the coastal city of Sihanoukville, into an ecologically sustainable resort paradise rivaling established Asian tourism destinations such as Phuket, Koh Samui and Bali.

The Cambodian government has granted The Royal Group a 99-year lease on the 77 kilometre2 island to advance the plan. International investors and partners are being sought to contribute to the development of the island that will include luxury resorts and residential infrastructure, such as transportation, the development of the island's international airport and leisure projects such as golf courses and a marina.

The development of Koh Rong is the latest in a series of high profile business ventures for The Royal Group. Hotels and resorts in the company's portfolio include the Royal Park Resort in Siem Reap, Cambodia's first six-star resort, and the 239-key Hotel Cambodiana, the country's first five-star waterfront hotel.

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