No opening date yet scheduled
The Las Vegas Sands Corp. says its majority-owned subsidiary, Sands China Ltd., has received permission from Macau to finish construction of its Paris-themed resort on the island.
It’s not clear when the resort will open, according to GGRAsia. During the Sands’ third-quarter earnings call in October, Sands Chairman and CEO Sheldon Adelson said the Parisian Macao would have a soft opening in late 2015 and a full opening that includes the casino in March 2016.
“From the moment we put our first shovel in the ground we have been committed to helping Macau secure its future as a center for leisure, business and entertainment,” Adelson said in a December statement.
“Our investment has provided tens of thousands of new jobs in areas such as retail, entertainment and hotel operations,” the statement continued. “We’ve enabled local companies and suppliers to grow their businesses and we’ve helped the government expand its tax base and diversify its economy. The Parisian Macao is 100 percent consistent with that vision.”
Work was suspended on the property in June following an on-site accident, Macau’s Land, Public Works and Transport Bureau (known by its Portuguese acronym DSSOPT) told GGRAsia. In a quarterly filing in August, LVS said construction of the Parisian was “pending receipt of certain government approvals.”
Some of the delay may be attributed to the departure of Lau Si Io, former secretary of the bureau, which issues casino construction permits. He resigned in December and was replaced by Raimundo Arrais do Rosário.
In November, Ambrose So Shu Fai, CEO of rival Macau casino operator SJM Holdings Ltd., which is building a new resort on Cotai called Lisboa Palace, told GGRAsia: “There have been quite a number of delays there (on Cotai). And we hope that they the new secretaries having gained experience from the past, could speed that up.”
Chinese President Xi Jinping, who recently paid a rare visit to Macau, says the gaming mecca needs to diversify its industry beyond casinos.
