The long-delayed opening of SJM’s Grand Lisboa Palace has been delayed again.
The HK$39 billion Cotai resort complex (US$5 billion), originally slated for completion in 2017, had been expected to finally open this month, but recent guidance provided by SJM’s Hong Kong-listed parent, SJM Holdings, indicates that now a summer debut is more likely.
SJM said the property expects to receive its occupancy permit in March or April, “which probably suggests a May/June opening, in our view,” said analysts with JP Morgan. “The gaming facility should open in one go, but we expect a staggered opening for hotels and non-gaming.”
SJM is the only one of Macau’s six casino concessions without a presence on Cotai, the city’s principal tourism center and home to its largest and most elaborate resorts.
Plans for Grand Lisboa Palace call for more than 5 million square feet of total space, 90 percent of it non-gaming, housing 1,900 rooms and suites in three hotels, two of them boutique offerings developed in partnership with fashion conglomerates Gianni Versace and Karl Lagerfeld and extensive spaces devoted to dining, shopping, meetings and events and entertainment and cultural attractions.
