The first phase of Japanese gaming mogul Kazuo Okada’s Tiger Resort is on track for a December 2016 launch, the company has revealed.
Speaking to local reporters about the highly anticipated property located in Manila’s Entertainment City precinct, Tiger Resort President Steve Wolstenholme revealed that the total investment in the first phase would come in at US$2.7 billion following a number of delays but was confident the current deadline would be met.
“The investment is on time. We will open our first phase – which is US$2.7 billion – at the end of this year,” Wolstenholme said.
“It will be something that is quite spectacular and the most significant investment that is happening in the Philippines. We will change how tourism is perceived here but also will change how the face of entertainment is perceived here.”
Tiger Resort was originally scheduled for completion in March 2015 but experienced a number of setbacks during construction, including difficulties finding a local partner. Philippines law requires that foreign developers cannot own more than 40 percent of the land upon which a property is located.
Last September Tiger Resorts was granted an extension on its construction deadline by local gambling regulator PAGCOR but was fined US$2.2 million for failing to meet its previous guarantee.
Despite the delays, the company recently announced it had also begun work on the second phase of development, with another two phases to follow in the future.
“It obviously shows the confidence our owner, Mr Okada, has in the Philippines, this property, the prospects of tourism and the branding,” said Wolstenholme.
Exactly when this next phase will be complete and how much it will cost remains to be seen, however. “We’re still evaluating the expenditure,” Wolstenholme explained. “We expect the additional phases to be hundreds of millions of dollars but that is going to be determined by how we see that master plan going forward. Right now our focus is to get open.
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