Lawmakers raise concerns about Flame Sako

Lawmakers have met with the Department of Public Lands to discuss concerns about plans to build a multi-million dollar resort in As Matius.

In September last year, Gov. Benigno Fitial approved plans for the Flame Sako Resort Hotel and Spa with Kang Dae Sik, the resort’s president. The plans call for a nine-floor, 357-room resort on 10 hectares of land on a site north of Palms Resort Saipan. The project carries an estimated price tag of $50 million to $60 million, said Department of Public Lands Secretary John S. Del Rosario.

Because of the size of the property, the lease will require legislative approval.

After looking at a draft lease, some members of the Legislature had questions, such as financing sources, and whether work can begin within six months after the lease is signed, said Rep. Ramon Tetuteb, chairman of the House Committee on Natural Resources.

The Natural Resources committee met with Del Rosario this week to ask questions before legislative action is taken.

Lawmakers want to make sure conditions, like community benefits, should be in place before the lease is approved, Tetuteb said. They want to know if Flame Sako, like other hotels, will provide its own water and sewer and be willing to give back some of that or other infrastructure activity to the community. There have been issues with other investors not maintaining public areas like beaches, so the lease must be clear on defining maintainance, the representative said.

Also, community members, in a recent public hearing on the hotel, expressed concern about the boundaries because of the PauPau Beach, which is popular among residents and tourists, Tetuteb said.

Having a resort on the site may result in residents being prevented access to PauPau Beach.

“That’s a grave concern by the community there when we did the public hearing, so we want to make sure we know where the boundaries are,” he added.

The next step, Tetuteb said, is for the legislators’ concerns to be addressed in the lease, before it is signed and a joint session takes place. He said he anticipates the lease to be signed by the end of the month.

On a related noted, DPL’s Del Rosario has written Saipan Chamber of Commerce director Steve Jang, admonishing Jang for “peddling negative propaganda among policymakers with respect to the ability of Flame Sako and Neo Goldwings Paradise to finance their projects.”

Del Rosario said the investments are legitimate, and unless Jang has additional information, he could be opening himself up to slander lawsuits. Jang could not be reached for comment yesterday.