Babauta’s help sought on permit application of new Tinian investor

Gov. Juan N. Babauta was urged to get the Marianas Public Lands Authority moving on the land use permit application filed by a Korean investor to build a new casino hotel on Tinian.

Senate President Joaquin Adriano reported that the Tinian Casino Gaming Control Commission has already investigated the Korean-owned firm initiating the 1,000-room hotel project. The commission, Adriano added, has assured him that Mariana Resort Development Co. Inc. is a legitimate investor.

But the project cannot proceed, as MPLA has yet to grant its approval.

“[The investor is] asking for nothing from the government except a land use permit. This is in return for a $500-million investment in our island,” the Tinian senator told Babauta in a letter. “I urge you to encourage MPLA to take positive action on this permit as soon as possible. [The] land use permit and your commitment to limit casino gambling to the island of Tinian will give these investors the confidence to launch this project on Tinian.”

In an interview, MPLA commissioner Edward Deleon Guerrero said the agency is now negotiating with the investor with regard to the application.

He added that MPLA’s approval would depend on the applicant’s ability to comply with all the permitting requirements.

“They will have to go through the process all applicants are required to go through. Even when they have submitted all the necessary documentation, we still need to conduct a thorough review of their papers,” said Deleon Guerrero.

The casino hotel, which will also feature a golf course, will be the first investment of Mariana Resort Development in the Commonwealth.

Company chairman and chief executive officer Kang Yun Lee said investors from China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, Korea, and the United States will help finance the project, which he said would cost about $300 million.

Construction will be done in two stages, Lee said. The first phase will include the construction of 500 hotel rooms and an 18-hole golf course at an estimated cost of $179 million. The master plan for Phase I of the project is now complete and work is scheduled to begin on the architectural and engineering design next month, he added.

The investor is looking at making an additional investment of $130 million for the second phase.