Grand Lisboa Palace could get delayed

It’s the second time in 2017 that a fire starts at the construction site of the Grand Lisboa Palace in Macau.

Macau.- Multiple rumors have surfaced in the last few months regarding the opening date of the upcoming Macau casino Grand Lisboa Palace that is scheduled for the second half of 2018. A fire that started at its construction site late on Sunday is fueling the suspicions once again.

Approximately 88 workers were on the site when the dire started at the construction site of the Grand Lisboa Palace, local media reported. Only one worker was trapped on the 14th floor of the building but he was eventually evacuated and taken to a nearby hospital.

This is the first time in the year that Grand Lisboa Palace suffers a fire at its construction site, with the previous one happening in March, and the fourth in three years. The Judiciary Police said that foul play was the probable cause.

Last month, Ambrose So Shu Fai, chief executive of SJM Holdings Ltd, revealed that according to the company’s expectations, the opening was scheduled for the second half of 2018. The casino had to stop its construction process in June due to a fatal accident that happened to one of the workers. The Labour Affairs Bureau informed that it issued a suspension order to the contractor, in order to protect the safety of other workers, which lasted for more than a month. The authorities ordered the contractor to fully implement effective measures that would improve occupational safety of all workers.

Angela Leong On Kei, executive director of SJM, told local media yesterday that it’s inevitable that the dire would delay the opening. “I believe these typhoon disasters and fires have already impacted the works of the [Grand Lisboa Palace] site. We’re yet to receive a report on the conditions of the construction site, so I cannot report to you for certain, but I believe a delay is inevitable,” she said.