Govt, DPL urged to negotiate lease for Kan Pacific

Rep. Vinson Sablan (Ind-Saipan) has pre-filed a House resolution to urge the Inos administration and the Department of Public Lands to negotiate with Kan Pacific Saipan, Ltd. on a new land lease for Marianas Resort and Spa.

Kan Pacific is the owner of Mariana Resort and Spa, which has an expiring lease on 2018.

The company has asked the DPL to continue its lease and has committed some $75 million in additional investments to the CNMI.

But DPL earlier said it will issue a request for proposals for all expiring public land leases and solicit globally competitive bids. The agency said the Office of the Governor supports the issuance of the RFPs.

Sablan said House Resolution 19-26 “respectfully requests” that negotiations be held for Mariana Resort and Spa instead of issuing an RFP.

Sablan stressed that he is not against the issuance of the RFP, but is merely asking that due consideration be given to the resort.

“About 91 percent of 150 employees (or 137) are local. So I hope this can be a consideration if we are looking into the ‘betterment’ of the CNMI,” Sablan said.

Official statement?

Sablan is also asking if the Inos administration has an official statement on the leases.

“We hope that we can get an official statement if indeed this is the position of the government,” Sablan said.

He also recommends that a public hearing be held regarding the call for an RFP—instead of a lease extension—so that “we will know what the people really think,”

“Again, I’m not against the RFP for getting top dollar for the value of CNMI lands, but sometimes it’s more than just the dollar value that we need to consider,” Sablan said.

Hotel Association of the Northern Mariana Islands chair Gloria Cavanagh earlier said that “what DPL is doing now [regarding the expiring leases] is a gamble.”

Cavanagh, who is also the general manager of Mariana Resort and Spa, said the DPL position on the expiring public land leases “affects all five of our [HANMI] members.”

“The risk of these big five leaving because of this policy is akin to economic recklessness,” Cavanagh said.

Aside from Mariana Resort, Kanoa Resort, Fiesta Resort and Spa, Pacific Islands Club Saipan, and Hyatt Regency Saipan, whose leases are expiring from three to 10 years from now, also received a letter from DPL regarding their expression of interest to extend their current leasehold.

Cavanagh also said HANMI sent a letter to Gov. Eloy S. Inos before he went on leave. The letter, dated July 2, requested Inos “to revisit the position taken by the DPL secretary and thereupon to reconsider the same.”