NagaCorp, G1 may vie for the site
The planned site of a new casino resort in the Russian Far East should have no problem finding a new owner, say authorities in the Primorsky Krai economic zone on the Black Sea.
The property was to have been developed by Royal Time Primorye, which planned a casino resort called Zhar-Ptsitsa, or Firebird. The contract was signed in February 2015 for a $215 million casino with hotels, an aqua park, a mall and a concert arena. Construction was due to being in the spring of 2016 but repeatedly stalled due to TK, according to the Asia Times.
“If investors are not able to keep to the agreed plan, we will find others,” an official in the Primorsky Krai administration said. “There are several others who have already declared interest.”
“The land plot allotted to Royal Time Primorye will be auctioned off,” added Sofia Korotina, spokeswoman for the Primorsky Krai Development Corp. “The corporation is trying to attract new investors to the project. At a recent expo in Macau, we reached certain agreements.”
The Times reported the license may go to Hong Kong-listed NagaCorp Ltd., which is already building a $350 million resort there. Lawrence Ho’s Summit Ascent Holdings also may be a contender; the company’s G1 Entertainment subsidiary opened its Tigre de Cristal resort—the first casino in the zone near Vladivostok—in late 2015. G1 wants to add a $500 million entertainment complex with a hotel, mall, restaurants and bars, a conference center and other amenities. The investment is expected to reach $500 million.
In addition to G1 Entertainment and Primorskye Entertainment Resorts City, a subsidiary of NagaCorp., Russian investor Diamond Fortune Holdings Prim is also constructing a resort in the zone called Selena. Total investment in the Far East gaming zone is expected to reach $2.7 billion.
