Construction of the second Bloomberry Resorts Corp casino property in the Philippines will start next year, the company’s chairman and chief executive Enrique Razon said on Tuesday after the firm’s annual shareholders’ meeting.
The Manila Standard reported that work on the 15,676-square-metre (168,735-sq-feet) site in the Vertis North area of Quezon City could be underway by the middle of the year and be finished by 2022. Mr Razon (pictured in a file photo) reportedly told the media outlet there was not yet a budget for the development, but a master plan would be ready by January.
The development will be the second in the Solaire Resorts and Casino chain. The first Solaire Resort and Casino is part of the Entertainment City complex at Parañaque in Metro Manila’s south.
Bloomberry also owns and operates Jeju Sun Hotel and Casino, a foreigner-only casino operation on Jeju Island, in South Korea.
The new Solaire development would tap the mass market for gaming in the north of Metro Manila. “We foresee that tourism will continue to play a significant role in the growth of the Philippines integrated resorts,” Mr Razon was reported as saying. “Growth will likewise be boosted by the rise in middle-class incomes and increasing connectivity across the region.”
Mr Razon said he saw continuing strong financials for Bloomberry. The group made a first-quarter net profit of PHP3.69 billion (US$70.45 million), the most ever, on gross revenue of PHP14.5 billion, also a record. “In Entertainment City, infrastructure and real estate projects are being constructed at a rapid rate and this should drive increased foot traffic into Solaire,” Mr Razon was quoted as saying.
Entertainment City is designed to emulate the success of Macau’s Cotai district. The zone is home to two other casino resorts: the City of Dreams Manila, operated by a unit of Melco Resorts and Entertainment Ltd; and Okada Manila, by Japanese gaming conglomerate Universal Entertainment Corp. There is at least one other development in the pipeline, with Travellers International Hotel Group Inc developing Westside City Resorts World.
