State-owned Clark Development Corp. (CDC), overseer of the Clark Special Economic Zone north of Manila, has canceled a claim of Waterfront Philippines Inc. to operate the 206-hectare Mimosa Leisure Estate in Clark.

In a disclosure to the stock exchange Wednesday, Waterfront, the hotel chain of plastics magnate William Gachalian, said it had received a letter from CDC confirming that the CDC board had canceled the bidding process for the Mimosa estate because of a “supervening event that materially affected the terms of the project.”

CDC said it had not extended the deadline for Waterfront Philippines to comply with its obligations under a memorandum of agreement with CDC.

CDC reached the decision at a board meeting on Oct. 17, citing a condition imposed by the government’s casino franchising firm Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) on Waterfront, CDC president Benigno Ricafort said.

Pagcor wanted Waterfront to pay P350 million in debts of Mondragon Leisure Resorts Corp., the estate’s previous operator, before it issued a casino license.

Pagcor vice president for corporate communications, Edward King said a casino license would not be automatically granted to the entity that would acquire Mimosa. “Whoever the buyer is has to apply separately for a license,” he said.

CDC took over the Mimosa in 1998 as Mondragon’s debt reached more than P1 billion in land lease and taxes.

CDC and Waterfront signed on July 14 a memorandum of agreement in which Waterfront committed to pay P930 million by before Oct. 11.

Waterfront did not pay that amount, but it made a security deposit of P54 million. It asked for a 60-day extension, “or until such time that a ... binding solution can be worked out” to settle the gaming license issue.

Waterfront wanted to operate the casino, saying in a Sept. 30 letter to CDC that the “heart of the estate’s operations lies in the gaming industry.”

“Without clear right to obtain a license ..., the financial viability of the whole project is greatly imperiled,” it said.

This is the fourth time the bidding for Clark’s tourism crown jewel has failed. Edited by INQUIRER.net