The president and chief executive of Travellers International Hotel Group Inc, Nilo Thaddeus Rodriguez, says a total investment of up to US$450 million is still required to complete the Westside City casino resort in the Philippine capital, Manila.
According to Mr Rodriguez, approximately 70 percent of the project has so far been completed.
“The US$1.25-billion Westside City development is now full speed ahead, with an opening targeted for the third quarter of 2026,” he said, as quoted over the weekend by the Philippine Star media outlet.
He added: “The focus now is completing Westside and operating it as soon as we can.”
The Westside City project is now being developed through a partnership between Philippine-listed Suntrust Resort Holdings Inc and Travellers International.
Earlier this month, Suntrust confirmed it had subscribed to 400 million common shares of Westside Bayshore Holding Corp, representing a 40 percent stake in that firm. This was part of a plan aimed at expediting the completion of what it described as the “now-expanded” Westside integrated resort (IR) project, with Travellers International effectively taking the lead in development.
The project includes a casino property to be known as LETX Resort (pictured in an artist’s rendering). It will operate under the gaming licence of Travellers International, a unit of the Philippine conglomerate Alliance Global Group Inc.
Travellers International currently runs the Newport World Resorts casino complex in Manila.
Through the announced share acquisition, Suntrust will effectively hold an indirect interest of 20 percent in Entertainment City Resorts Corp, an entity ultimately majority controlled by Travellers International. Entertainment City Resorts will assume “all rights and obligations related to the Westside integrated resort project to ensure its timely construction, development, completion and operation,” according to previously disclosed information.
In his latest remarks, Mr Rodriguez said the Westside City project would feature more than 2,500 hotel rooms across three brands, over 2,000 gaming machines and tables, restaurants, and entertainment venues.
“It will get you closer to what you see at Marina Bay Sands or in Macau. It’s that type of experience,” he said, first in a reference to the Marina Bay Sands casino resort in Singapore. “It is something that, hopefully, we know is not yet in the market today,” he added.
