MVA supports new resort plan
U.S.-based Bridge Investment Group LLC, which hopes to develop a Titanic-themed integrated resort on the Pacific island of Tinian, launched its strategy with a petition that recently had amassed 208 signatures.
According to the Saipan Tribune, the BIG project had been stalled because the company lacked permits to develop a “port-related activity.” BIG CEO Philip Mendiola-Long said the company wants to “invest on Tinian and in the community.” One of his proposed projects a ferry and ferry terminal that would provide reliable transportation to and from the island near Saipan in the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands, a U.S. territory.
“Tourism will also benefit from the ferry aside from an increase in inter-island commerce,” he told the Tribune.
Marianas Visitors Authority Managing Director Chris Concepcion said the BIG plan would address a pressing need. “There have been repeated inquiries regarding ferry transportation from Saipan—vehicle ferries in particular—to enable tourists and residents from Saipan to bring their vehicles onboard, spend the day or more on Tinian, and help spread some of the revenue being produced and spent on Saipan to our sister islands in the south,” he said. “The MVA is ready to help promote and market this attraction to tourists who visit the Marianas should this type of investment take place.”
Marianas Variety reported that BIG launched the petition online at change.org, seeking community support because the CNMI government has refused so far to issue a master siting permit. In a petition, BIG said the Tinian Ocean View Resort and Casino “will enhance and protect the Commonwealth’s inherent natural beauty and natural resources and will assist Tinian in meeting the long-term economic and social expectations of the commonwealth.”
Since 2014, the developer added, it has spent more than $13 million on the relocation and construction of the casino buildings built on a portion of the Tinian harbor leased from the Commonwealth Ports Authority.
Tinian Island has had a rocky history when it comes to casinos. The island’s only gaming hall was forced to close in 2015 after U.S. authorities fined the owners of the Tinian Dynasty Hotel & Casino $75 million for violating anti-money laundering policies. The closure decimated the local economy and left hundreds of people without jobs.
