Businessman and billionaire Manuel Villar has officially announced that the construction of Gold Coast Entertainment City will see its completion by 2023. Considered the second richest Filipino by Forbes magazine, he now sees that the integrated resort’s environment will see its strongest performance in the coming years as the pandemic restrictions have finally relaxed and continues to project that these will taper off into a near-normal scenario.
“Yes, it will push through. It is already a big development. We will be launching early next year since the casino has already been built,” and was nearly finished, the businessman, who is also a former senator, was quoted as saying.
He assured that there is already a committed USD 1 billion into the project that is also strategically located at nearby Ninoy Aquino International Airport. This will be an advantage to capture the growing trend of tourists who frequent integrated resorts as their destination.
The casino will have an area of about 18,000 square metres (193,750 sq feet). There will be future announcements on who will be the casino operator as well as other potential partners in the integrated resorts venture.
Developer Vertex Entertainment and Resort Corporation, a subsidiary of private investment company Prime Asset Ventures, Incorporated, revealed that there will be a host of hotels, condominiums, a shopping mall and a theme park found in the IR.
“We have been holding back for three years. While we remained active in the market, we did not pursue it as much,” he added. All other details of the project, including the name, partners and schedule for the opening will be revealed at the launch in early 2023.
Land usage conversion to accommodate Gold Coast Entertainment City
Manny Villar will be converting the Vista Mall Global South mall — sitting on the 80-hectare property — into the integrated resorts of Gold Coast Entertainment City. The development will be centering around the area where the mall is currently — with a focus on the 9 hectares surrounding this structure.
The theme for Gold Coast Entertainment City will be harking from the Las Vegas model where the casino will also be surrounded by other attractions like theme parks, theatres, restaurants, retail establishments, hotels, condos and other non-gaming components.
The location is also at a prime location wherein the international airport is nearby as well as four other integrated resorts with the government-sponsored Entertainment City in Paranaque.
Villar has also announced that he will have a bullish stance on the real estate sector as his listed Vista Land & Lifecapes Inc. is set to launch 41 projects next year. This is an unprecedented move for Villar citing, “We have not done this before. We have not launched this scale.”
Broadcasting business interests
His business interests and investments not only span the field of real estate but also delve into broadcasting. His latest venture, AllTV, is now in its initial stages. AllTV working on enhancing its reach by setting up digital signals nationwide for maximum viewership stats. They are currently leasing the facilities of ABS-CBN Corporation.
AllTV is at the formerly Channel 2 analog free-to-air slot and the digital Channel 16. AllTV can also be seen on SkyCable Channel 35, Cignal TV Channel 35, G-Sat Channel 32, Planet Cable Channel 2 and other cable affiliates nationwide.
Capping off our article would be kudos to Manuel Villar. I favor his unflinching belief when it comes to the promising industry of integrated resorts. Hopefully, this can help compensate for the POGOs once they have been removed from the current gaming scene. Any thoughts on this, folks? It’s simply reassuring to see that progress is continuously happening around the country. Hope to hear from you guys, soon. Cheers!
