The Governor of the Northern Mariana Islands, Ralph Torres, says he has no plans to approve “any time soon” a proposal by Imperial Pacific International (IPI) to build 10,000 new hotel rooms in Saipan.
Speaking to students at Northern Marianas College this week, Governor Torres revealed that IPI had made the proposal “a couple of years ago” but that the limit would remain at 2,000 new rooms for the foreseeable future.
“We are not approving the 10,000 rooms at this time,” the Governor said according to the Marianas Variety.
“We only approved what is in the law, which is 2,000 rooms.
IPI is currently working towards completion of Imperial Pacific Resort, including 329 new hotel rooms, in 2018. Two more integrated resort development sites, to be completed by 2028, will add a further 1,675 rooms to the island.
Governer Torres said that it was important for the government to match the number of approved hotel rooms to demand from tourists and investors.
“Of course we don’t want an unlimited number,” he said. “So we will make sure that proposed investments will still fit our island and our environment and culture are not compromised.”
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