The budget for the Ponte 16 casino hotel has been doubled to almost US$309.5 million, including the additional land premium, and the project will now cover 126,500 sq m. Following approval from the Macau government, scheduled opening will now be mid-2007 for the casino, with hotel and retail developments following by the end of that year. 51% of Ponte 16 is owned by Sociedad de Jogos de Macau (SJM), 36.8% by Macau Success and the rest by businessman Li Chi-keung.

The increased casino area will house 150 gaming tables and 300 slot machines, and there will now be 8 VIP salons, each with an additional 3 gaming tables. In a move to compete in the changing Macau gambling market, a Las Vegas casino design firm has been hired to draw up plans for the casino interior. The Yates-Silverman design team has previously worked on NewYork, New York; Circus Circus and Luxor in Las Vegas and Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City.

The Ponte 16 hotel will be managed by Accor of France as one of its Sofitel brand hotels. There will be 19 VIP suites and room numbers have been increased to 419 from the originally planned 210. The project includes some 50,000 sq m of retail outlets in a shopping arcade. Ferries will be used to bring visitors across from mainland China to the Ponte 16 pier. China is considering a plan for a future tunnel from Zhuhai to the western waterfront of Macau, where the Ponte 16 project is under construction. (E-04.20.06)

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