Suncity Taps Philippine Construction Giant for Planned Manila Hotel-Casino

Hong Kong-listed real estate developer and casino operator Suncity Group Holdings Ltd. has tapped a Philippine development giant to build its planned hotel-casino complex in Manila’s Entertainment City precinct, news emerged Friday.

A local subsidiary of Suncity, SunTrust Home Developers Inc., has signed the necessary construction agreements with Megawide, the company announced.

According to a statement issued Friday by Suncity, its Philippine subsidiary and Megawide have signed two separate agreements that will see the Hong Kong-listed operator pay a total of HK$1 billion (approx. $130 million) for the completion of construction work at Suncity’s planned resort.

Under the terms of the first of the two agreements, Megawide will receive just under HK$650 million for construction of the basement, podium, and tower of the main hotel and casino building. The second agreement will see Suncity pay Megawide HK$364.3 million to complete pile cap, excavation, and lateral support work.

Suncity first announced plans to enter Manila’s gaming and hospitality market in October 2019. In February, the company signed a lease agreement for the site that will be used for the development of its planned hotel and casino resort in the Philippine capital.

The Project

Suncity last fall teamed up with Westside City Resorts World Inc. to co-develop a hotel and casino complex that will be part of the new Westside City Resorts township in Manila’s Entertainment City.

Entertainment City is a concept introduced by the Philippine government in the early 2010s that includes integrated casino resorts and other entertainment and hospitality facilities that are aimed to boost Manila’s and the Philippines’ tourism industry.

Suncity’s proposed complex will feature a casino with 1,200 slot machines and 400 gaming tables, a 400-room five-star hotel, and a 44,000-square-meter parking with 960 spaces, among other amenities. The hotel-casino resort would be intended for both high roller casino players and mass market patrons.

As mentioned above, Suncity’s SunTrust subsidiary signed a lease agreement for the site where the property would be developed. Under that agreement, SunTrust would pay an annual rent of $10.6 million once the planned resort is complete and operational.

The agreement is valid through August 19, 2039 and is set to renew automatically for another 25 years.

Commenting on their decision to expand into the Philippines, Suncity Executive Director Andrew Lo said last year that “outside of Macau the most decent city for gaming is Manila because of the scale, three international brands and facilities, airport […].”

Suncity’s SunTrust subsidiary is 51%-owned by the Hong Kong-listed company, while Philippine real estate developer Megaworld Corporation holds a 43.5% stake and Aurora Securities owns the remaining 5.5%.

Follow us on Facebook and Twitter to stay up to date on the day’s top casino news stories

Vivo Gaming Debuts New Philippines Live Casino Studio 2020 Jul Philippines Tells POGOs to Pay Taxes or Else 2020 May Suncity Signs Lease Agreement for New Metro Manila Casino Resort 2020 Feb Philippine Taxman Shutters Tax-Dodging POGO Gambling Operator 2020 Feb