IPI hiring Turkish H2B workers

The Imperial Pacific International (CNMI) LLC is hiring Turkish H2B workers for the ongoing construction of its Imperial Pacific Resort in western Garapan. IPI also reported that six of a planned 15 VIP villas are now complete.

Eric Poon, IPI vice president for construction, disclosed during yesterday’s Commonwealth Casino Commission board meeting that visa applications for the workers are now being processed in Turkey.

Poon said they expect the processing to be done soon and the workers to be on Saipan this December.

He did not mention how many Turkish workers IPI will be hiring.

As of Monday, Nov. 25, IPI has a total 350 H2B workers: 151 Taiwanese; four Thais; 150 Mongolians; and 45 Australians, Poon said. IPI also has 131 local manpower.

Excluding 15 management staff, IPI has a total of 481 workers, Poon said.

In his update on the progress of the construction work, Poon said the east wing of the resort hotel has already been granted a conditional certificate of occupancy permit and a conditional fire permit.

For the north wing, interior fit out work is in progress, while decorative lighting, bathroom mirror, bathroom millwork, swimming pool mosaic, among others, are in progress.

Poon said the marble stone flooring has been completed.

The resort hotel’s soft opening date will soon be announced, he said.

For the hotel tower, Poon said the building façade cladding, installation of guestroom exterior sliding door and glazing, and the interior fit out pre-construction phase are all in progress.

As for the external works, Poon said IPI has completed and tested the new lift station builder work in downtown Garapan as part of the requirements.

He said IPI has completed most of the offsite improvement project except the final force main connection at the Commonwealth Utilities Corp. facility at the Sadog Tasi Wastewater Treatment Plant due to the site’s conditions. Poon said IPI has no issue funding the offsite improvement project, that IPI has been proactive in working with CUC to resolve whatever issues they have at CUC’s facility.

In his report on the construction milestone schedule, Poon said Phase 1 of the resort hotel is in progress and is expected to be completed on Dec. 31, 2019.

Phase 2 of the tower hotel’s levels 3 and 13 is in progress and is expected to be finished on June 30, 2020.

Poon said Phase 3 of level 2 VIP Gaming and level 14 sky level started last June 1 and is expected to be completed on Sept. 30, 2020.

He said Phase 4 of the Beach Club started last Oct. 1 and will be completed on Dec. 31, 2020.

In a later interview with CCC executive director Edward Deleon Guerrero yesterday, he said that, with the construction of the six villas now completed, IPI is now passing from the construction team to the operations team for the opening of the villas.

Deleon Guerrero clarified, however, that these completed villas are not necessarily open to the public because they are part of the VIP package and are, therefore, for the casino’s VIP guests only.

“So that when you are coming to the Commonwealth as a VIP player, or the so-called complimentary, the comps, the facilities are part of the comps. But it is intended to target tourists, the VIP patrons,” he said.

Deleon Guerrero said IPI expects to open the villas this December. “There is no opening date as far as opening the villas to the public because it’s part of the VIP package,” he added.

With the facility done, he said IPI is now working on the operational side and that means staffing.

Deleon Guerrero said the villas are five-star facilities. “It might be the first five-star hotel in our region. I’m not even sure that Guam has any five-star hotel,” the executive director said.

Deleon Guerrero said their concern is that five-star quality, as required by the casino license agreement, refers not only to the facility but also to staffing.

“In order for you to acquire that status, you must have, of course, a facility that is at par with the highest quality. But you must also have…five-star staffing. And that’s part of the question regarding staffing, regarding training for IPI,” he said.

As for the hiring of Turkish workers, Deleon Guerrero said he believes that these workers have special skills to work on some stone structures, some wall papers, and high quality tiles.