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IPI gets conditional permit
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Posted on May 18 2017
The Department of Public Works has granted Imperial Pacific International (CNM) LLC a conditional certificate of occupancy, giving the multibillion-dollar conglomerate the go-signal to open its casino on Saipan.
DPW’s Building Safety Code Division finally released the conditional certificate after several inspections to make sure the facility is not dangerous or poses a hazard when people occupy it.
IPI officials can’t be reached for comment but they are expected to meet in order to finalize the much-anticipated partial opening of the casino component of Imperial Pacific Resort.
Best Sunshine Live, the temporary live training casino at T Galleria, is also expected to stop operations once the IPI casino opens.
The offices of the Commonwealth Casino Commission and casino (basement and levels 1 and 2), Tapochau Bar, grand lobby, and the casino floor are the occupied areas that are allowed.
The allowed areas can hold a total load of more than 6,100 people. Sprinkler systems were also installed in these sections.
The certificate was issued on Tuesday, May 16, and ends on Nov. 16 this year. The certificate must also be placed in a prominent area of the facility and the building official is the only person allowed to remove it.
The certificate also releases the CNMI government of any liability in case of death, injury, property damage, etc. while the “structure is under conditional occupancy.” It also restricts the use of tower cranes 3 to 6 so it won’t “encroach over the airspace of the occupied areas anytime.”
Safety officers must also monitor the limited use of the tower cranes and a safety plan must also be in place “during the installation of the required seismic brackets and hangers for sprinkler piping.”
DPW Secretary James Ada, in an earlier interview with the Saipan Tribune, said that personnel of the Building Safety Code Division have been inspecting the site and meeting with IPI representatives to make sure the facility is safe for occupancy before they could issue a conditional permit.
IPI’s initial plan was to begin the operations of the casino floor while construction of the hotel component will continue. Opening was delayed twice, on Chinese New Year on Jan. 28 and by the end of March.
