Chinese company wants to develop CICC complex
A Chinese company has expressed interest to invest in a multi-billion peso integrated resort entertainment complex at the lot where the controversial Cebu International Convention Center (CICC) stands at the North Reclamation Area in Mandaue City.
In a letter, the chief executive officer of Millennium Pan-Asia Hotel and Resort Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Hongkong Goldenway group, asked Mandaue Mayor Luigi Quisumbing to grant the company a certificate of consent or a certificate of no objection to operate an integrated resort and casino.
The executive officer, Jun Xiao, said the company is interested to acquire the 3.8 hectare property so it can build the integrated resort and casino that will feature a five-star hotel, casino, shops, restaurants, spa, theatre, cinemas, as well as a commercial and retail complex.
The project will have a potential investment of $300,000,000.
The company will partner with some international brands like Marriott, Hard Rock Café, among others, for the project.
"The group has considerable experience in operating PAGCOR hotel regulated casinos and online gaming. The company intends to bring the same experience in the heart of the city of Mandaue," Xiao’s letter reads.
Xiao said the project will stimulate local economy, create thousands of job opportunities, and increase tax revenue for the local government.
If the Mandaue government accepts the proposal, the company plans to start the project this year so Phase 1, which will include a hotel and a casino, can begin by 2020.
Quisumbing has endorsed the proposal to the City Council for perusal.
"Should you find everything in order, I humbly seek your prompt and immediate action for a resolution on this matter," Quisumbing said.
The city government can assume ownership and administration of the CICC as soon as it can pay P350 million to the provincial government for the building.
It was the Capitol that spent for the construction of the CICC for the ASEAN Summit in 2007 during the time of former governor Gwendolyn Garcia. The lot, however, remains under city ownership.
In a recent interview, Quisumbing said the city will be open for a publicprivate partnership once it can acquire the CICC building.
The building sustained major damage after the magnitude 7.2 earthquake in Central Visayas and super typhoon Yolanda in 2013.
The city, however, does not intend to use its funds to fix it.
“I don’t want to spend several hundred millions to rebuild and develop it. I’d rather operate it as a convention center, maybe a commercial development, so that at least there would be tax income for the City of Mandaue and allow the city to recover over time what we’ve spent to acquire the building,” Quisumbing has said.