Construction has started on a US$290 million resort casino in Fiji, the first ever for the South Pacific archipelago.
The developer, a local hospitality company called One Hundred Sands, says the project, which has experienced several delays since the government approved it in 2011, will open in mid-2015 on the island of Denarau under an exclusive 15-year license.
Plans call for 200 hotel rooms and villas, a spa, pools, a nightclub, three restaurants, MICE facilities and a 1,500-seat performing arts center.
The construction is expected to create more than 1,600 jobs.
One Hundred Sands also is approved for a gaming resort in the capital of Suva.
Fiji, with a population of about 875,000, lies some 1,100 miles north of New Zealand
