By Oscar Guijarro
Macau casino operator Sands China is hoping the US$1.1 billion it has committed to transform Sands Cotai Central into The Londoner will aid its cause when the government begins the process of issuing new gaming licenses over the next few years, according to the company’s President and Executive Director Wilfred Wong.
Sands China announced last October its plan to give the Cotai Strip resort a makeover, with The Londoner to provide another global city-themed resort in the vein of its sister properties, The Venetian Macao and Parisian Macao.
With the renovation scheduled to get underway before the end of the year, work should be complete in 2020 – around the same time the 20-year gaming licenses of fellow Macau concessionaires SJM and MGM expire. The licenses of Sands China, Galaxy Entertainment Group, Melco Resorts and Wynn Macau all expire in 2022 with re-licensing expected to involve a rigorous government review process.
“What we as operators and concessionaires have to do is to show our sincerity and hopefully this all counts in the government’s retendering exercise,” said Dr Wong during a speech at a business luncheon organized by the British Business Association of Macao on Wednesday. “We want to make sure the government understands what we are doing.”
Dr Wong added that The Londoner project is still in a “research” phase but that the project will include modernization of the shopping mall, known as Shoppes at Cotai Central, and converting the current Holiday Inn into the Londoner Hotel. The refurbished Shoppes at Cotai Central will comprise 600,000 square feet of gross leasable area when the project is complete.
Around 300 “super luxury” apartments to be built at St Regis will aim to attract high end visitors, however Dr Wong said the project will also consider mass market demands given the segment’s increasing importance in Macau.
“Now we see three generations coming together – the grandparents, the parents and the kids – and they come in that combination because the parents want the grandparents to look after the grandchildren while they go and play,” he said.
For this reason, entertainment facilities and activities tailored for this market dynamic can be expected in the development.
“We are now grasping the to try and build facilities that will appeal both to families and our high-end customers,” Dr Wong explained.
Iconic scaled replicas of London landmarks such as Big Ben, Buckingham Palace and Tower Bridge are being considered as likely attractions.
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