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2nd casino investor signs up
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Posted on Mar 08 2006
Tinian moved a step closer to becoming Micronesia’s Las Vegas, with two companies now in the process of establishing hotel casinos on the island.
Representatives of the Marianas Resort Development Co. Inc. and the Department of Public Lands signed a memorandum of understanding yesterday in relation to a new $170-million casino and golf course project on Tinian.
MRDC comes in addition to Tinian Dynasty Hotel and Casino, which has been operating since 1998, and Bridge Investment Group, which also looks to invest about $150 million in a new hotel casino.
Press secretary Charles P. Reyes Jr. said the memorandum of understanding formalized MRDC’s intent to develop a new hotel casino on Tinian. The Fitial administration, for its part, pledged to support the project.
“It’s a significant investment and it should attract more tourism to Tinian. We will try to expedite this investment so our economy can get back to growth as soon as possible,” Reyes said.
MRDC had previously submitted its development proposal to the Marianas Public Lands Authority. Public Law 15-2 dissolved MPLA and its duties and responsibilities were transferred to the Department of Public Lands.
The company will submit its proposed public lands lease agreement to DPL next week.
On April 4, 2006, local officials and dignitaries will join investors from the CNMI, Japan, Korea, and China in a ceremonial groundbreaking for the new hotel casino and golf course development project.
The date for the groundbreaking ceremony was set yesterday morning after the signing of the memorandum of understanding at the Governor’s Office on Capitol Hill.
Phase I of the project will be completed after an initial investment of more than $170 million. It will involve the construction of a 300-room hotel casino, with 100 full suites and 200 junior suites, four full-service restaurants, a spa, wedding chapel, shopping arcade, and a convention facility that will accommodate 600 people.
The initial phase, expected to take 16-24 months, will also culminate in a completion of an 18-hole championship golf course, the first on the island of Tinian.
Phase II of the project will involve the construction of luxury bungalows and additional rooms at the hotel casino.
