Casinos eyed for Mandaue reclamation

The winning bidder of the P9-billion reclamation and development project in Mandaue City, Cebu is studying a plan to build casinos within the 131-hectare complex, similar to what is being done at the  Entertainment City gaming hub along the Manila Bay shoreline.

Michael Romero–whose private investment firm, Sultan 900 Inc.– won the contract last month, said the potential gaming site was still being planned at this point. It would require a license from Philippine Amusement Gaming Corp., which the company has yet to obtain, he said.

“It’s a conceptual plan (to build) a casino city there,” Romero told reporters in a recent interview.

At present, there are casinos located in Cebu, one of the biggest is the Gatchalian-owned Waterfront Hotels and Casinos, but these continue to be operated by Pagcor.

Pagcor chair Cristino Naguiat Jr. earlier said the company was not yet inclined to issue new licenses to private players, apart from the four issued to groups in Entertainment City, which is the Philippines’ response to regional gaming hubs like Macau and Singapore.

Solaire Resort and Casino, operated by Enrique Razon Jr.-led Bloomberry Resorts Corp., was the first casino to open last March. It will be followed in mid-2014 by the partnership of Henry Sy’s Belle Corp. and Macau-based Melco Crown Entertainment.

Two more players—groups led by Japanese billionaire Kazuo Okada and Philippine tycoon Andrew Tan—will open their casinos through 2016. By then, Pagcor said total gaming revenues, mainly from Entertainment City, would rise to $10 billion from only $2 billion last year.

While the gaming component was being studied, the plan for the Mandaue reclamation project would involve the construction of a Cebu Port Terminal, to be developed by listed Globalport 900.

Globalport 900 controls Manila North Harbor Port Inc., which operates the Manila North Harbor together with Petron Corp.

Romero said the shareholders were separately investing P14.5 billion in Manila North Harbor over 25 years, of which P9 billion has either been spent or contracted out as of last week.

“Port developments will be the focus of Globalport,” Romero noted.

He said the group plans to develop the Mandaue reclamation project over a period of 10 years.

“It will be a mixed-use, industrial port complex,” Romero explained.

Reports stated earlier that Sultan 900 won the Cebu reclamation deal after F.F. Cruz and Co., which was involved in a previous reclamation deal in Cebu, withdrew.

Another group, the Gotianun-led Filinvest group which is expanding its real estate exposure in Cebu, was disqualified, reports showed.

Globalport became a listed entity after it acquired dormant MIC Holdings two years ago as a prelude to its backdoor listing on the stock exchange.