The Vista Land chairman says construction of the Gold Coast Entertainment City project is almost complete.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
The Philippines.- Philippine real estate developer Manuel Villar<\/strong>, Chairman of Vista Land, says that his new casino in Manila will open in 2023. Villar said construction is almost complete on the 18,000-square-metre Gold Coast Entertainment City <\/strong>project near Ninoy Aquino International Airport.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In an interview, Villar said US$1bn had been committed to the project. He hinted that a foreign operator could run the casino but didn’t provide details about potential partners. The venue will also have hotels, condominiums, a shopping mall and a theme park being developed by the private investment company Premier Asset Ventures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Villar sai the project’s name, partners and opening date will be revealed early next year. Meanwhile, Megaworld Corporation<\/strong>, an affiliate of the Travellers International Hotel Group, has announced that it will invest PHP15bn (US$261.34m) to build a new \u201cintegrated lifestyle community\u201d<\/a> in Manila featuring a mix of residential condominiums, hotels, commercial developments and a casino.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The project will be built on the site of the former horse racing track, which the group purchased from the Manila Jockey Club <\/strong>for about PHP1.89bn (US$32.92m). According to the company, the development will be inspired by \u2018Old Manila\u2019<\/strong> with structural designs reminiscent of the pre-war era. Completion is expected in 2028.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to a report by industry consultancy GCG Gaming Advisory Services<\/strong>, the Philippines could compete with Singapore as the region\u2019s leader in gross gaming revenue over the next few years. The report says the Philippines will recover to pre-pandemic levels well before other markets and reach 2019\u2019s GGR of US$5.01bn in 2023. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It expects the Philippine gaming market to grow to an annual GGR of US$10bn by 2027. It estimates a GGR of about US$1.1bn to US$1.3bn for the fourth quarter of this year and in the range of US$3.9bn to US$4bn for all of 2022. That includes revenue from the country\u2019s licenced bingo operations, online gaming and e-sabong.<\/p>\n\n\n\nPhilippines to become a regional leader in GGR, analysts say<\/h2>\n\n\n\n