EKRAN BERNAD PROPOSES REHAB OF $300-M SAMAL CASINO RESORT COMPLEX
News from BusinessWorld Online:
DAVAO CITY — A Malaysian firm is proposing to rehabilitate and resume the operations of a mothballed casino resort in Samal Island.
Cleto B. Gales, Jr., Samal’s city administrator, said local officials met with Ekran Berhad Holdings Chairman Pek Khiing Ting and his son Michael Ting late March in Kota Kinabalu to discuss the company’s plans.
Ekran Berhad plans to link the $300-million Samal Island resort with its other hotels in the region, specifically the one in Kuching, Malaysia, Mr. Gales said.
The meeting was prompted by Ekran Berhad’s growing tax arrears, which has reached P30 million. In the first quarter of the year, the foreign firm sent consultants to the resort to assess its condition.
In 2004, a study by the local government and the Department of Tourism estimated that around P200 million would be needed to revive the resort.
The local government had talked to several groups, including South Korean and American companies, and even the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp., but all three did not want to bear the costs.
The 300-room hotel and casino resort opened in December 1997 under an agreement with the Department of Tourism and the Philippine Tourism Authority. The resort, located at the 11,800-hectare Samal Island Tourism Estate Project, had golf-courses, a casino, condominiums, villas, and recreational facilities.
Read more: Businessworld
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I can see that the company is on a “wait and see” status..if i were them, i would be fast in refurbishing and renovating the resort..or else it would be too late for them as many modern and high end resorts are all on the rise in Samal//
this site is great.. i would like to request that a news section would be established. great job!
wow more than a decade since this resort closed shop, welcome back to Samal! its been a long while! now u should be ready to embrace the tourism industry in davao
sunugin nalang nila ang resort nato! ang tagal nag re-open..bulok na ata ang mga facilities dito! magiging nuisance pa ang resort na to//
i want to bear in thier mind that whoever will be interested to assume or fund the said amount they said put the heart in talking and discussing the said portion or the details with proper ethics so that it will be soon as possible restablish……
They should not put a sign, symbol which has a mean of self interest by the said person that the one will negotiate about this matter………….
allways be aware……….
I’M NOT BRAGGING I’M JUST TELLING THE TRUTH
ALWAYS YOUR’S
FELJUN A. ESLAWAN