Four foreign gaming and entertainment companies are seeking permission from the Cagayan Economic and Freeport Zone Authority to establish integrated resorts with combined investments of at least $800 million.
A Hong Kong-based company plans to put up a $500-million integrated casino and resort complex in the 10,000-hectare Fuga Island in Cagayan province.
Three Japanese, Korean and Malaysian companies also committed to invest $100 million each for the construction of hotels with casino components in Cagayan.
“We haven’t finalized anything yet. I happened to receive their letters only recently and we’re still discussing how to go about it. Their proposals are akin to the operations of Resorts World and Solaire Resort and Casino. I gather that the minimum investment for the casino hotel is about $100 million and for an integrated casino and resort facility is about $500 million,” Ceza administrator and chief executive Raul Lambino said at the sidelines of the launch of blockchain technology company Liannet Technology Ltd.
Liannet is a subsidiary of the Apsaras Group Ltd. of Hong Kong.
Lambino said Ceza was not covered by the moratorium on construction of new gaming facilities issued by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. He said Ceza is an independent body and has the authority to issue operation licenses to any investor company including gaming firms.
Lambino said Ceza had a standing inventory of 55,000 hectares of idle lands, public and private, that could be utilized by the gaming companies. He said the agency was also willing to look for new sites in Cagayan to accommodate the foreign investors.
The proposed development of Fuga Island will involve the construction of a casino hotel, followed by a theme park, a number of villas and an entertainment theater.
“One of the companies suggested to build villas for the ultra-rich that may cost $1 million each. They are trying to replicate the Jeju Island destination in Korea,” said Ceza deputy administrator Raymundo Roquero.
“The investment pledge of $100 million each will only cover for the hotel and casino, but it can go beyond that if they are expanding into a full-blown integrated resort,” he said.
Liannet, a blockchain technology company, has stakes in industrial, manufacturing, infrastructure and other asset investments.