PHILIPPINES -- One of the licensees of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation's (PAGCOR) Entertainment City Manila has announced that it is on track to finish its US$1.2 billion casino and hotel project and is eyeing to start operating by the second half of this year.
Bloomberry Resorts and Hotels Inc., controlled by Enrique Razon Jr. of global ports operation company International Container Terminal Services (ICTSI), has said that it has completed major infrastructure works under phase 1 in Solaire Manila, the group's integrated hotel and resort that will have 180,000 square meters of floor area. Solaire Manila will feature a hotel tower, a podium with convention facilities, gaming areas, restaurants, retail establishments, and health and wellness facilities. Development cost for this phase of the project is estimated to be at US$650 million.
Bloomberry expects operations to start by the second semester of 2012 making it the first licensee to start operating within the 120-hectare entertainment and gaming complex that sits on reclaimed land along Manila Bay.
During a topping-out ceremony, Razon said in a statement:
"Only a year ago, this same spot where we are was but barren, unproductive land. But today, you see massive structures and a bustling commune with a 5,000-strong labor force who work 24/7 to complete our integrated resort complex."
State gaming officials are confident that Entertainment City Manila will further boost tourist arrival to the Philippines and that it would help achieve the country's goal of 10-million tourists by 2016. Last year, 3.5 million tourists visited the country.
Aside from Solaire Manila, other projects expected to rise in the PAGCOR project include the Belle Grande from Henry Sy's Belle Corp., Resorts World Bayshore City from Travellers International Hotel Group of Andrew Tan who also brought the Resorts World brand recently, and the Manila Bay Resort from Tiger Resorts Leisure and Entertainment controlled by Japanese gaming tycoon Kazuo Okada.
