Solaire Resort & Casino owner Bloomberry Resorts expects to open the second phase of its Manila IR in the third quarter of 2014.
Speaking to reporters after a shareholders’ meeting on Monday, Chairman Enrique Razon said the expansion is fully funded and 40% complete.
PSX-listed Bloomberry is spending US$480 million on the second phase, which is slated to include a second hotel with 308 rooms and suites, more restaurants, an array of high-end retail outlets and entertainment facilities. Its completion will bring the total cost of the resort to $1.2 billion.
Solaire opened in March as the first of four mixed-use gaming and leisure complexes planned for Manila’s new Entertainment City, a 100-hectare swath of government-owned land reclaimed from Manila Bay and located about five miles across town from the city’s international airport.
The second resort, Belle Grande Manila Bay, is scheduled to open next summer as a joint venture between a local subsidiary of Philippine retail and property giant SM Corporation and a listed Philippine subsidiary of Macau’s Melco Crown Entertainment, which will operate the casino, the hotel and its supporting attractions.
The government forecasts the country’s casinos will generate $2.5 billion in total revenues this year, reaching $10 billion by 2017, when all four Entertainment City IRs are expected to be up and running.
Solaire made 578.3 million pesos from its casino in its first 15 days (US$13.4 million), and Mr Razon estimates weekend visitation at 15,000-16,000.
“We’re getting a lot of visitors and it’s ramping up nicely,” he said.
Bloomberry posted a net loss of 1.1 billion pesos in the first quarter (US$25.5 million) as expenses rose to 1.8 billion pesos. Reuters reported a 4.1% drop in the share price on Monday morning. The stock is down more than 24% year to date.
