Imperial Pacific ups Saipan investment to $7.1 billion

Imperial Pacific says it will spend $7.1 billion on casino, hotel and related developments in Saipan between 2014 and 2020, more than double its earlier projections.
However the company said it has yet to firm up plans for how it will raise the money.
A total of 4,252 rooms and 300 villas with a casino offering 1,600 gaming tables and 3,500 slot machines are planned over five phases. In 2016, the company plans to spend $1 billion, increasing to $2.3 billion in 2017, $2.4 billion in 2018, and $953 million in 2019.
In a filing with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, Imperial Pacific says it expects construction work to start in early 2015, with the town hotel gradually opening from 2016 onwards, followed by the launch of the integrated resort in 2018.
The company says the Saipan government is helping it to find suitable land and has already leased land for the first two phases of its development plan.