GGRAsia – SJM resumes construction of Grand Lisboa Palace

SJM resumes construction of Grand Lisboa Palace

Aug 02, 2017 Newsdesk Latest News, Macau, Top of the deck

The chief executive of Macau gaming operator SJM Holdings Ltd, Ambrose So Shu Fai (pictured), has confirmed that the firm was authorised by the Macau authorities to resume construction work at its new Cotai casino resort Grand Lisboa Palace.

“We were allowed to resume work today [Wednesday]. Of course, the contractors need some time to commission the set of workers and so on. It will take a little time,” Mr So said on the sidelines of an awarding ceremony of scholarships sponsored by SJM Holdings.

“In the meantime, of course we have already lost about seven to eight weeks. We are trying to readjust the construction programme and try to catch up with the schedule. From our estimates, we expect that we can still open in the second half of 2018,” he added.

Macau’s Labour Affairs Bureau had ordered suspension of construction work at the Grand Lisboa Palace site on June 18. That day a 47-year-old worker from mainland China died after falling 10 metres (33 feet) at the construction site of the HKD36-billion (US$4.63-billion) project.

Also on Wednesday, Mr So confirmed that Andrew Billany, SJM Holdings’ senior vice president of operations, had tendered his resignation. He said the exact date for Mr Billany’s departure was still under discussion.

Mr So stated that Mr Billany would take on a position with a new employer outside of Macau.

GGRAsia approached Mr Billany – who also attended the award ceremony – about his resignation. He declined to comment on the matter.