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Japanese firm eyes building 18-hole golf course on Tinian
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Posted on Mar 20 2001
The Office of Public Lands yesterday confirmed it had approved in concept a proposal to build a golf course on Tinian.
Director Bertha Leon Guerrero acknowledged that her office received a proposal from Japanese company, Life Up Inc., and that she had authorized her staff to meet with the firm’s representatives to discuss the proposal in more detail.
“The Board has already taken up the proposal and has approved it in concept,” Ms. Guerrero noted. “We expect to finalize everything by week’s end.”
The proposed 18-hole golf course on Tinian would do wonders for the islands’ tourism industry, which has suffered of late due to the economic slowdown and the lack of direct flights.
In fiscal year 2000, visitor arrivals to Tinian totaled 2,688. This is minuscule compared to the figures submitted by Saipan and Rota, which were 513,619 and 9,826 respectively in the same period last year.
However, tourism figures for Tinian rebounded last month after it registered a mammoth 276 percent rise from a mere 129 arrivals in February 2000 to 560 in February 2001.
Tinian is also home to the 75,000-square-foot Tinian Dynasty Hotel and Casino complex. Although, the gambling and hotel facility is said to be losing money, much of the tourism activity on the island is attributed to its presence.
The US Armed Forces is entitled to lease as much as half of the island. Tinian holds a historic significance. It was in its gargantuan runways that the Enola Gay took flight to drop two atomic bombs to the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in the closing days of World War II.
Life Up is said to be eyeing the construction of an 18-hole golf course but has plans to expand the recreational facility. Tenorio and Associates is said to be Life Up Inc.’s local partner in the project.
