Imperial Pacific International (IPI) has confirmed that it won’t complete construction of its Saipan IR, Imperial Pacific Resort, by the 31 August 2018 deadline, pushing for a deadline extension to December instead.
Confirmation of the company’s impending deadline extension request came via IPI’s Vice President for Construction, Eric Poon, who told the local Commonwealth Casino Commission (CCC) that, “The development of the resort hotel experienced a big jump and we are trying to [do] everything and get ready for the inspection by the end of the year. Overall, our focus is on three areas – the resort hotel, hotel tower that includes the building facade and roof and the external works which in front of the hotel lobby.”
According to the Saipan Tribune, Poon said that work on the resort had progressed from 45% to 68% complete in recent months. Construction had previously slowed to a standstill after it was revealed late last year that IPI’s former contractors – MCC, Beleida and Gold Mantis – had employed more than 2,000 workers illegally. The company hired Pacific Rim to help repopulate its workforce earlier this year but progress has been slower than expected. Under IPI’s current Casino License Agreement, Imperial Pacific Resort must complete a minimum of 329 hotel rooms, 14,140 square meters of gaming area and other elements by no later than 31 August 2018.
CCC executive director Edward Deleon Guerrero last week pressed on IPI the need to “identify how much more time they need because August is right around the corner.
“CCC regulations adopted the casino license agreement so any changes into the agreement requires us to go back and change our own regulation to be compatible with the agreement as we absorb the agreement as part of the regulatory functions,” he said.
Poon told the CCC that IPI’s upper management is currently preparing its official request for a deadline extension, the Saipan Tribune reported.
“We are still finalizing a lot of documentation and it’s not a 10 to 20-page extension package,” he said. “We still have a lot of information that we have to prepare and consult with our general contractor to once again get the construction and manpower schedule. It’s been taking a very long time but we are almost there.”
The impending deadline extension request will represent the sixth change to the original casino license agreement for completion of Imperial Pacific Resort.
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