Travellers International Hotel Group Inc., is set to invest $300 million-$450 million more to complete its $1.25 billion Westside Integrated Resort, in time for phased opening by next year.
The Andrew Tan-controlled Travellers International is developing the integrated gaming facility in the Entertainment City in Paranaque City, in partnership with Suntrust Resorts Resort Holdings Inc.
Nilo Thaddeus Rodriguez, Travellers International president, in an interview on Wednesday, said the group is targeting to open Westside by the third quarter of 2026.
“We’re maybe 70 percent (complete) already,” he revealed, noting that the facility will not be fully completed until 2027, which justifies the phased opening.
The Westside City project will feature over 2,500 hotel keys across three brands, more than 2,000 gaming machines and tables, a curated lineup of restaurants and lifestyle concepts, and a theater district led by the Apollo Theater and the Grand Opera House.
Rodriguez said that Travellers International opted to take control of the project to speed up its completion in preparation for the recovery of the physical gaming market in the country.
Tan’s Megaworld Corp. also owns about 34 percent of Suntrust.
Travellers International recently took control of Westside after Suntrust opted to reduce its stake in the project to just 20 percent, from an original agreement that would have made it responsible for building and operating the integrated resort. This reduction was due to financial challenges faced by its parent company, Fortune Noble, part of the LET Group of Hong Kong.
Rodriguez said that with the two casino resorts in Metro Manila — Newport and Westside — Travellers International will be able to offer its customer base two different experiences.
Westside is being positioned as the more upscale offering, similar to Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands or Macau, Rodriguez said.
“By extending our integrated resorts footprint, we are not only scaling up but also creating new experiences for customers and growing the market itself. There’s still growth in the market. You see just the headwinds and all, but it’s really helping consolidate that (Newport and Westside) and offer that to the market,” he said.
In a speech before gaming resort operators at the Inside Gaming Expo on Wednesday, Rodriguez said that the Philippine integrated gaming resort market is undergoing an “inspiring” change led by relatively strong fundamentals.
In particular, Rodriguez noted that tourism currently contributes nearly 9 percent of the country’s GDP and supports almost 7 million jobs.
The Philippines is likewise positioned to be the second-largest gaming jurisdiction in Asia after Macau, as it posted an all-time high gross gaming revenue (GGR) of $7.16 billion last year.
