The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR) and Udenna Corp. have signed a provisional license agreement for what could become the country’s first integrated resort and casino outside Metro Manila.
The group of businessman Dennis A. Uy, through its wholly owned subsidiary Udenna Development Corp. (UDEVCO), will build the $300-million integrated resort and casino on the Punto Engaño peninsula in Mactan Island, Lapu-Lapu City.
The development called Lapu-Lapu Leisure Mactan will rise within a 12-hectare prime beachfront only six kilometers, or a 20-minute drive, away from the airport.
Lapu-Lapu Leisure Mactan will feature iconic modern buildings surrounded by lush greens and infinity pools. It will have a skydiving center on a pier; a retail complex; a convention center; luxury hotels and villas; specialty dining options; private residences; and condominium-hotels.
The development will give residents and guests access to the longest stretch of beachfront in Mactan as well as views of the Hilutungan Channel and the Magellan Bay, making it a premier business and holiday destination year round.
For the adventurous, Lapu-Lapu Leisure Mactan will serve a gateway to the best diving, snorkeling, island hopping and watersports experiences in the country.
Udenna is looking to break ground for the integrated resort and casino in three months. It targets to complete the development in 2022, with the casino, retail complex and hotels scheduled to open as early as 2019.
“Lapu-Lapu Leisure Mactan only marks the beginning of our vision of a world-class leisure, residential and commercial destination in Central Visayas,” said Mr. Uy, president and chief executive officer of Udenna.
“We see this integrated development taking a major role in bringing the Philippines on a par with the region’s premier destinations for leisure, gaming and meetings as well as for commercial and residential investments.”
Mactan has become a premier tourist destination, seeing a surge of investments but keeping enough room for further development in the coming years.
“Lapu-Lapu Leisure Mactan aims to become a key economic growth driver in Central Visayas by creating thousands of jobs and small-business opportunities aside from supporting the government’s community development programs,” Mr. Uy said.
PAGCOR Chairman and CEO Andrea D. Domingo and Udenna President and CEO Dennis A. Uy (center) signed a provisional license agreement on May 3 for the development of the Lapu-Lapu Leisure Mactan integrated resort and casino. Joining the signing ceremony were Udenna Director of Special Projects Raymundo Martin M. Escalona; PAGCOR Director Reynaldo E. Concordia; PAGCOR President and COO Alfredo C. Lim; and PAGCOR Director Carmen N. Pedrosa (from left to right).