Rising Soon: Manila Bay Strip

Business Mirror Editorial

Some 60 kilometers southwest of Hong Kong is Macao, former colony of Portugal . With a total land area of 28.6 sq km, it is smaller than Mayor Alfredo Lim's City of Manila, which covers 38.55 sq km. Macao has a population of a little over half a million, less than a third of the Philippine capital city's official count of 1.5 million people.

So how could such a tiny spit of land have generated over $17 billion as gross domestic product (GDP) in 2006? That kind of GDP makes for a per-capita income of $28,853—again in 2006 American dollars.. Macau's economy has been growing at over 13 percent annually—tracking and sometimes leading the consistently robust growth rates of the entire Chinese economy.
If he were still alive, paramount leader Deng Xiaoping—who almost single-handedly modernized his country by adopting 'socialism with Chinese characteristics'—would probably be overjoyed that Macau has been living up to his dictum, 'To be rich is glorious.'
What made such impressive economic figures possible is gambling—or, its more polite variant, 'gaming.' Casinos are what have made this special administration region a Chinese cash cow since Lisbon formally returned it to Beijing in 1999.
To be sure, Macao has other sources of income, such as some light industries that include garment and textile factories. Its history as the oldest—and last—European colony on Chinese soil has produced a culture that appeals to millions of sightseers, both Chinese and foreign. There is little doubt, however, that the bulk of 25 million tourists who went to Macau last year alone made a beeline to its casinos. And projections are tourist traffic—both from the mainland, where illegal gambling can earn an offender three years in prison, and overseas—is bound to keep growing. Of course, it has not always been that way.
The history of the gaming industry in Macau can be traced to 1962, when the Portuguese colonial authorities issued a monopoly license to the Sociedade de Turismo e Diversões de Macao (STDM), headed by the legendary Stanley Ho. His classic Hotel Lisboa and its opulent extension across the street, the lotus-shaped Grand Lisboa, still dominate the skyline of Macao 's old section. However, Macao —and China as a whole—hit the jackpot when the Chinese authorities decided to give Ho some competition.
The Macau government ended the monopoly system in 2002. Six casino concessions and sub-concessions were granted to STDM, Wynn Resorts, Las Vegas Sands, Galaxy Entertainment Group, the partnership of MGM Mirage and Pansy Ho Chiu-king and the partnership of Melco and PBL.
Stanley Ho's STDM continues to operate 16 casinos, which are still considered crucial to Macau 's casino industry. In 2004, however, the opening of the Sands Macao ushered in a new, more profitable era.
At its opening the Sands Macao was hailed as the largest casino in the world, as measured by total number of table games. After the Wynn Macao threw its doors open in 2006, gambling revenue from Macao 's casinos surpassed for the first time that of the Las Vegas Strip's $6 billion or so. Since then, Macao has become the highest-volume gambling center in the world.
Success breeds success, and keeps on doing so. In 2007 the Venetian Macau—the second-largest building in the world—opened its doors to the public, followed by MGM Grand Macao . Many other hotel casinos, including Galaxy Cotai Megaresort and Ponte 16, are similarly set to open in the very near future—going by the relentless pace of construction at Macau 's reclamation areas.
Officially, Filipinos make up 2 percent of Macao 's population. They are employed not just in the casinos, but also in hotels, restaurants, transport companies, retail outlets and wherever there is a need for amiable, hard-working and English-speaking staff. However, there are probably even more Filipinos in Macao working 'informally.'
That Filipinos make up a significant portion of Macao's casino work force—and, for that matter, in the US gaming centers of Atlantic City, Reno and Las Vegas—has its parallels in, say, our merchant marine. The Philippines deploys the largest number of seamen across the globe—mainly because it does not have a big enough maritime industry to employ them.
Some of our expatriate manpower and talent in the gaming establishments of Macau—and even Nevada and New Jersey —may finally be able to come home and still earn a decent living in the not-too-distant future.
After making investors—along with thousands of job-hungry Filipinos—wait for what must have felt like an eternity, the state-owned Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) finally gave the go-signal to four investors ready, willing and able to put up a world-class gaming center in Manila .
As this paper reported yesterday, what has been envisioned as a Las Vegas-like Bagong Nayong Pilipino-Manila Bay Integrated City took another step closer to reality. Japan 's Aruze Corp., Genting Berhad of Malaysia, SM Investments Corp. and Australia 's Bloombery Investments Ltd. were given the go-ahead to put up their respective multibillion-dollar projects at the 90-hectare resort complex.
Pagcor has approved the project proposals of the four groups, with total investments of about $10 billion spread over three to five years.
When fully operational—the earliest by 2010—the integrated resort facility is projected to raise the country's gaming revenue by at least 30 percent. It is also expected to boost foreign tourist arrivals by up to three million travelers annually, and generate over 250,000 new jobs.
Pagcor aims to use the Bagong Nayong Pilipino as a catalyst to sustain the growth of the country's tourism industry. It hopes to attract at least $4 billion in investments.
Fears that the envisioned gambling center would further erode Filipinos' public morals seem to be unfounded. Similar—but not as grand—gaming operations have actually been operating for several years now in Ilocos Norte, Cagayan, La Union, Rizal and the old US military bases at Clark and Subic Bay. The bulk of their clientele is foreign—including spillovers from Macao.
Besides, the potential of the Manila Bay Strip for boosting tourist traffic is enormous. There are certainly more attractions for sightseers in this country than the ex-Portuguese colony's church ruins.

Pagcor published a half page press release today with a picture of the complex that will have a semi submersible observation wheel. heres the same picture. Look at the bottom of the observation wheel. Notice how it dips into a man made lake? What did i say earlier!!!
The Pagcor tower will be built by Pagcor and will serve as their headquarters. The architect is local firm called JT Cruz and Partners. If they truly want to make this world class, they should hire an international firm known for making iconic landmarks and design a symbol not just for the complex but for the 'new' Philippines. they should learn from landmarks like the PETRONAS twin towers (used Muslim motifs, symbolic gateway to Malaysia ), Burj Dubai (billowing sail, a symbol of new Dubai ) or the Beijing national stadium (birds nest, green Olympics)