Melco PBL Entertainment's Crown Macau Hotel is on schedule – albeit incurring an additional $US71 million in costs.
The construction of Crown Macau commenced on December 2004 and Crown Macau is targeted to complete construction and open on a trial basis on April 28, 2007. The Crown Macau is scheduled to formally open to the public on May 9, 2007, and a grand opening event will be held on the May 12, 2007.
Melco PBL’s executive vice president Simon Dewhurst said the construction program remains on schedule and despite facing tough deadlines, construction has progressed relatively smoothly.
In the company’s initial public offering prospectus, filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission on December 19, 2006, the company estimated that the total project development costs for the Crown Macau would be $US512.6 million.
The company now projects that additional costs of approximately $US71 million will be incurred on the project, representing an increase against the estimated Projected Costs of approximately 14%.
The company said the increase in budgeted costs is in three principal areas: pre-opening and property marketing expenses; FF&E expenses for the casino operations; and design and fit-out expenses for the hotel and casino areas.
Upon completion of Crown Macau on April 28, 2007, the property will feature a 36-story tower including approximately 183,000 sq ft of gaming space with approximately 220 gaming tables and more than 500 gaming machines.
Macau has not only assumed the helm as Asia’s gambling mecca but it has recently superseded Las Vegas as the world’s gaming destination – raking in $US7 billion.
Australian Property Journal