Megawide bags P1.5B Belle casino project

Newly listed Megawide Construction Corp. has bagged a P1.5-billion contract for a casino complex being developed along Manila Bay by leisure estate and gaming firm Belle Corp.

In a statement on Wednesday, Megawide said the new contract for the succeeding phases of Belle Grande Manila Bay complex includes construction of structural and civil works of two hotel towers, four condotels and an additional casino floor.

Megawide, a major contractor of the tycoon Henry Sy’s SM Development Corp., sees its top-of-the-line formworks system from Meva of Germany as suitable for the project, which has a high floor-to-ceiling height.

Meva’s formworks system is known in the international construction industry to cater to high ceilings of buildings and structures, the company said.

Once completed, the resort-casino project along Manila Bay will be the biggest hotel and casino complex in the country.

The casino will make available almost 20,000 square meters of gaming space, which the operators are also marketing as “the most exciting” in the country.

The $750-million casino complex is slated for soft opening by the second quarter of 2012. The first floor will be devoted to the mass market while 6,000 sqm will be reserved for VIP gamers. It will have 350 tables and 1,900 slot machines.—Doris C. Dumlao