MGTO nods hotel licence for The 13 project

Aug 17, 2018 Newsdesk Latest News, Macau, Top of the deck  

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The 13 Hotel (pictured), a real estate development on the Cotai-Coloane border, has received the necessary permits to begin hospitality operations, said the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) in an emailed reply to GGRAsia.

“The Macao Government Tourism Office has issued licences to The 13 Hotel as well as the establishments located inside the hotel,” the tourism office said in its Thursday response to our enquiry. In a follow-up email on Friday, the tourism office confirmed the relevant licences had been issued on Wednesday.

The approvals followed two rounds of inspection to the property, the latter at the end of July. MGTO conducted in June a first inspection of The 13 Hotel, but decided that the scheme’s promoter had to “apply for reinspection” due to “unfinished works”.

The hotel is promoted by Hong Kong-listed South Shore Holdings Ltd, a company known until late June as The 13 Holdings Ltd. South Shore said in a July filing it expected to receive all the required licences – namely for the hotel, the food and drink operations, a health club and a bar – “by mid-August 2018”, aiming to open the hotel by August 31. The firm had previously mentioned July 31 as the opening date for the hotel.

In its Thursday statement, MGTO – the body responsible for authorising hotel operations in the city – did not comment on matter of The 13 Hotel’s opening date.

The scheme’s backers aspire to have a casino at the property. In a February 25 filing, the firm said the casino at The 13 Hotel might only open by March 31, 2019, along with some shops at the complex.

(Updated 3.50pm, Aug 17)

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