Construction work on Phase 1 of Okada Manila, a $2.4-billion integrated resort located in the Philippine capital, is nearing completion, parent company Universal Entertainment Corp. said on Friday in a filing to the Tokyo Stock Exchange. The complex’s first facilities are set to open doors at the end of next month, although no specific date was announced.
Last month, PACGOR Head Andrea Domingo said in an interview for Reuters that Phase 1 of the luxury resort would likely be launched on December 21. PAGCOR is known to be the Philippine gambling regulator.
The first phase of the expensive and expansive project includes a hotel, excluding staterooms for VIP guests, multiple food and beverage options, a casino, and different attractions for non-gambling customers. The initial opening would cover 22 hectares of land, or half of the entire plot the resort is set to occupy.
Here it is also important to note that Okada Manila is part of Manila’s Entertainment City, a multi-billion-dollar complex located in the heart of the Philippine capital. Among others, Entertainment City is set to feature four integrated hotel and casino resorts. Two of those – Solaire Resort and Casino and City of Dreams Manila – have already opened doors for visitors. Okada Manila will be the third resort to be launched as part of the larger-scale Entertainment City project. Resorts World Bayshore, the fourth such property, is set to be completed in 2018.
Okada Manila, originally promoted as Manila Bay Resorts, was first scheduled to open doors in March 2015. However, developers requested a deadline extension from PAGCOR and were granted such extension in June of the same year. As a result, the resort’s completion was pushed back to the end of 2016.
Earlier this year, it was reported that the property may be completed and soft-opened in November but, as Universal Entertainment and its Philippine subsidiary Tiger Resort, Leisure and Entertainment Inc. said last month, unfavorable weather conditions had hampered construction.
Universal Entertainment also pointed out in the Friday filing that it had managed to raise $400 million to complete construction and to be able to open the complex by the year’s end. The money was raised via the private placement of Series 2 notes at an annual rate of 8.5%.
Universal Entertainment is owned by Japanese magnate Kazuo Okada and specializes in the production and distribution of pachinko, arcade games, and other products for the gaming industry.
