Melco Crown’s enormous City of Dreams Manila project in the Philippines is on schedule for its mid-2014 opening, financial analyst Sterne Agee said after a recent meeting with the management of the casino operator.
The project, which Melco is building together with local developer Belle Corporation, is set to become the second of the four integrate resorts and casinos to open in the Philippines’ Entertainment City. Solaire Casino & Resort was the first to do so, opening its doors back in March and, at least until COD Manila opens, has enjoyed somewhat of a casino monopoly in the area for the past nine months all the way up to City of Dreams Manila’s launch date.
In addition to its prized project in the Philippines, Melco is also overseeing the development of Macau Studio City, the next fully integrated resort and casino to open in Macau sometime in the middle of 2015. Again, that project is on track to be completed in the scheduled time frame.
But the priority, it seems, for Melco Crown these days is to ensure that the timetable for City of Dreams Manila is met without a hitch. All resources are being thrown into ensuring that happens and it’s probably as good a sign as any for the Macau-based developer to see that hotel tower 5 at City of Dreams just broke ground with a target opening date of late 2016.
When these establishments are fully operational and running on maximum capacity in a few years’ time, only then can we see Melco Crown take it a little bit easier. That, or the company may on track to open yet another one of its world-class casinos in another key Asian city.
