Angela Leong On Kei commented on Thursday that the multibillion project for a theme park located next to casino mogul Stanley Ho’s Lisboa Palace integrated resort on Macau’s Cotai Strip is yet to be granted land by the government of the Chinese administrative region.
Ms. Leong currently controls Macau Theme Park and Resort Ltd., the company that promotes the expensive project, and is an executive director of SJM Holdings, one of the six operators that manage casino properties in Asia’s most popular gambling hub. SJM Holdings is in charge of the construction of the Lisboa Palace resort, which is expected to open doors sometime in 2017.
Ms. Leong commented that the park is to feature as many as five themed hotels. However, no further details were provided on those, as well as on when the project is to be completed and how much it would cost. Yet, it seems that it is both on budget and on schedule.
Developers announced their plan for the establishment of the theme park in 2010. Back then, they said that the construction of the property would cost MOP10.4 billion without the land costs.
Furthermore, they revealed that the complex would be focused on family entertainment and would be developed in three separate phases. Amusement rides, an equestrian center, an indoor beach, and a number of convention halls were only a small number of the amenities the property was planned to include.
In 2004, Macau Theme Park and Resort submitted an application for a 200,000-square-meter site on the Cotai Strip. Two years later, the city government asked the developer to divide the future property into two and was granted a 106,000-square-meter site where the hotels were to be located. The other 94,000 square meters of land are yet to be obtained by the company.
In 2013, SJM Holdings announced that the Lisboa Palace project might be united with the theme park one, so as for the casino operator and Macau Theme Park and Resort to establish an integrated casino resort much larger than initially planned. However, no further information has been revealed concerning the finalization of the deal.
The Lisboa Palace would spread over a 70,500-square-meter site and as mentioned above, it is scheduled to be completed and launched sometime in 2017. The property will feature three five-star hotels, including Karl Lagerfeld- and Versace-branded ones.
As for the casino floor, it is expected to offer to visitors more than 1,000 slot machines and 700 gaming tables.
Ms. Leong said yesterday that the hotels at the theme park would not be five-star ones, due to the fact that Lisboa Palace is to feature such facilities. She also pointed out that the Macau Theme Park and Resort project is to be more family-oriented.
