|
WATERFRONT Philippines Inc. (WPI) plans to put up a
hotel and casino in the Bagong Nayong Pilipino-Manila Bay Integrated
Tourism City in partnership with a Macau-based group.
On the sidelines of the
Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) project launch last
week, William Gatchalian, whose family controls WPI, said the
company would lease five hectares from the government to build a
2,500-room The Grand Waterfront Hotel and Casino.
He said the hotel would be 40
percent owned by WPI while the undisclosed Macau partner would
control the remaining stake. Estimated cost of building the facility
is between $500 million and $1 billion. Construction would start
next year and the facility would be open to the public four years
after.
Gatchalian said funding for the
facility would come from foreign sources but he failed to provide
details.
Earlier, the hotel operator
announced it would spend about P5 billion to buy four hotels within
two years, funds for which would come from internally generated
cash. The purchases will be done through WPI affiliates to improve
its revenue base without increasing the parent’s debt levels.
At present, the company is
refurbishing Manila Pavilion Hotel and Casino in Manila. Among the
hotels it manages include Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino,
Waterfont Airport Hotel and Casino Mactan, and Waterfront Insular
Hotel Davao.
The company is also developing a
resort on Uson Island in northern Palawan and is in the first stages
of building three hotels with 300 rooms each. Uson is part of the
Calamian group of islands, where tourist favorites, Coron and
Busuanga islands can be found.
Other hotel developments in the
pipeline include the 3,000-square-meter Grand Waterfront Hotel in
Fort Bonifacio in Taguig City and another 2,000-square-meter
Waterfront Hotel in Ortigas Center, Pasig City.
--Likha C. Cuevas-Miel
|
