The one casino licence for Nelson Mandela Bay in the Eastern Cape is up for renewal next year and there are two bidders. The closing date for bid applications was last Friday and the Eastern Cape Gambling and Betting Board has confirmed that both Sun International, which holds the present licence at its Boardwalk Casino as Emfuleni Resorts, and Embo Project Management Group have submitted bids.

Embo, partnered by US company White Sand, plans to convert the Boardwalk into an international convention centre at a cost of around R45 million and construct a multi-faceted entertainment centre, including casino, on disused land adjacent to the Port Elizabeth Harbour. The R1.8 billion development would include hotel, tourist retail facilities, cruise-liner terminal, ice rink, IMAX cinema, Apple Express station and restaurants.

A residential tower of condominiums and the hotel tower are intended to creat twin landmarks for the city. The Embo Group says it would independently operate the new Mandela Bay Casino and Waterfront with the assistance of White Sand to train and hand over to a local management team in due course. It would establish the first black indigenous South African casino operating company.

The Eastern Cape Gambling and Betting Board will take at least eight months to evaluate the two bids for the casino licence. Embo has said it hopes to start construction by November and that it would prevent job losses be hiring Boardwalk staff. Its project would create 3,000 direct and 5,000 indirect jobs and it has been estimated that related developments could bring an additional R50 billion to the area. (E-02.04.09)

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