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Korean firm eyes $300M casino on Tinian
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Posted on Nov 06 2008
A Korean company has announced its plan to build a $300-million casino resort on Tinian, the firm’s first major venture in the tourism business.
Yesterday, Gov. Benigno R. Fitial signed a provisional lease agreement with Neo Goldwings Paradise for approximately 300 hectares of public land on the northern part of Tinian.
Public Lands Secretary John DelRosario said the lease proposal will be submitted to the Legislature next week for its approval. The lease is for a term of 25 years, with a possible 15-year extension.
DelRosario said the project, which carries an estimated price tag of $300 million, could well be the biggest investment in the Commonwealth in 60 years.
“It has the potential of becoming a signature facility for the CNMI. It is the first thing you would see as you approach Saipan,” said Del Rosario.
The project calls for a 1,000-room hotel, casino, observatory, sauna and fitness center, indoor ice skating rink, outdoor concert hall, amusement park, water park, 36-hole golf link, horse riding ground, yacht basin, hot balloon area, and a Chamorro cultural village, among other things.
“It is a very ambitious project. I hope that they succeed,” said Fitial.
Speaking through a translator, NGP chair Hyun Myung In downplayed the impact of the global economic crisis on the feasibility of the multimillion project. He said his company will “find a way” through the crisis and expressed hope it will get help from the local government. He added that NGP has four U.S.-based partner companies that will be financing the Tinian project.
This is the first time NGP is going into the casino business. From 1998 until last year, the company’s operations involved publishing, advertising, market research and real estate. When he took over the company last year, Hyun switch the company’s focus to the leisure and tourism business.
Hyun said NGP looked at starting similar projects in Laos and Vietnam, but postponed those plans to concentrate on the Tinian venture.
