By KATE O’KEEFFE, Dow Jones Newswires
HONG KONG—Las Vegas Sands Corp.’s Macau unit said the local government has given it a three-year extension to complete a key project in the world’s largest casino gambling hub, a boon for the company’s development plans.
Sands China Ltd. said Monday that the Macau government will now give it until April 17, 2016 to finish construction of the planned casino-resort known as “Parcel 3,” which will be connected to its flagship Venetian Macao property. The casino operator, which was initially supposed to finish the project by August 2011, previously received an extension until April 2013 and then applied for another extension earlier this year.
Had the company not received the government’s approval to continue construction, it could have lost its land rights to the area as well as the money it had already invested in developing the land—$96 million, according to Las Vegas Sands’s 2011 annual report.
The company also said Monday that the Macau government will impose a penalty fine on it for the construction delay. Sands China said the government would notify it of the amount, without elaborating.
Sands China was the best-performing of Hong Kong’s blue chips Monday, rising 2.4% to finish at 23.30 Hong Kong dollars (US$3). The benchmark Hang Seng Index gained 0.2%.
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