IPI could import U.S. workers
The Saipan government says inclement weather and a lack of experienced construction workers could push back the completion of Imperial Pacific International’s integrated resort on the island, which is part of the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas chain. The current completion date is set for October 2018.
According to CalvinAyre.com, IPI said the resort was 62 percent complete as of September. But it could take more than a year to finish, said Joseph Reyes, vice chairman of the Commonwealth Casino Commission. “Even those tower crane operators are not easy to find,” Reyes told the Saipan Tribune. “It was indicated that efforts are taking place in trying to bring U.S. workers here. I give IPI credit for that.”
Weather is also a problem, he said. “I am sure they’re fully aware of it. They said they are doing the best they can, but one thing they should consider is if a storm comes this way.” Typhoon Soudelor, for example, battered the island in 2015 and left in a “state of disaster,” according to a report of the time.
IPI will not be penalized for the delay unless it fails to meet the deadline of full completion of Phases I and II in August 2023 and 2028. Imperial Pacific opened its permanent, 140,000-square-foot gaming floor at the resort in July as unpaid construction workers protested outside.
Prior to that, Imperial Pacific ran a temporary gaming facility called Best Sunshine Live in an upscale mall. Saipan is part of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, a U.S. Pacific jurisdiction.
