Waterfront Philippines Incorporated, a local hotel and casino operators in the Philippines, has been granted permission to move ahead with its plan of building a new gambling property in the Entertainment City district of Manila.

Permissions received after months

A new report from Inside Asian Gaming suggests that the Manila-headquartered Waterfront Philippines Incorporated received permission to work on the property after the Supreme Court initially denied an appeal lodged by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCor). The report also suggests that the state-run organization was trying to reverse a 2018 decision by the Court of Appeal that had permitted the firm to build and operate the Grand Waterfront Hotel and Casino venue within the 1,976-acre area.

The firm has already built three large properties in the country. It has built the Waterfront Airport Hotel and Casino, Waterfront Manila Hotel and Casino, and Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino. It also reportedly applied for the Grand Waterfront Hotel and Casino back in 2008. Despite the firm fulfilling all the necessary criteria for submission, which included a $100 million cash security deposit. PAGCor continuously failed to respond to their submission and the plans were left in limbo.

Waterfront filed a lawsuit

To expedite the process of the property, the firm reportedly filed a lawsuit in 2015. The regional trial court decided the matter in its favor in two years. The firm was then able to turn the case into its favor at the Court of Appeals as well. PAGCor was additionally ordered to hand over the operator approximately $4,130 in both moral and exemplary damages.

The firm said that the denial from the Supreme Court has become final and executory to give it the right to pursue the construction and operation of the proposed venue. The proposed property is expected to be similar in size to the Solaire Resort and Casino, Okada Manila, and City of Dreams Manila.