Imperial Pacific Resort Won’t Be Finished Until Dec. 31, 2022; CNMI Regulator Finds It ‘Alarming’

Article by : Helen Feb 3, 2021

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There is hardly a project as long-suffering as the Imperial Pacific Resort in Garapan (the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands, or CNMI). Originally planned to open its doors in 2018, the casino resort wasn’t finished on time. Imperial Pacific International pushed the grand opening to two years later in 2019, with the new deadline set to February 28, 2021.

And with just a month left to go, IPI came clean about how far behind the company’s deadlines. Long story short, there is no way the casino resort will be finished on time. Out of four construction phases, only the first one – construction of the resort hotel – is completed so far, as IPI chief engineer Eric Poon explained to the CNMI regulator, the Commonwealth Casino Commission (CCC).

At the moment, phase two is underway – constructing tower hotel levels 3 to 13. According to Eric Poon’s presentation, the works should be finished by the end of 2021 – but it’s not exactly easy to have faith in the deadlines being met when it comes to IPI. All in all, Imperial Pacific’s chief engineer set the regulator’s expectations towards the opening of the long-awaited casino resort for December 31, 2022.

It would be an understatement to say the CCC wasn’t happy with the revised timeline. The regulating body’s executive director Andrew Yeom called the whole situation “alarming” and warned the IPI that failing to meet the deadlines “is going to be a very serious breach of contract” of the casino license agreement signed by the casino operator.

If you don’t do that [submit a formal request for deadline extension] at the end of February, CCC will again be forced to file an enforcement action for failure to comply with the license agreement.

The construction of the Imperial Pacific Resort was stalled both by the reported financial troubles the IPI experienced and the regulators’ actions against the company for failing to act according to law. The casino operator didn’t pay its employees who got fired amidst the pandemic – the company owes the workers the wages in accordance with their labor contracts. (IPI has a debt of $3 million in unpaid wages to repay.)

The whole situation prompted the U.S District Court for the NMI to issue a one-week stop-work order on January 22 after the U.S. Department of Labor petitioned the court to find the casino operator in contempt. The court ruled in favor of the petition and ordered the IPI to pay what they owe and restore the normal living conditions in the workers’ housing.

Imperial Pacific reported to the court that it had paid its employees on January 26; however, according to Saipan Tribune, not everyone got what they are owed. Besides, the casino operator didn’t file a report on the conditions in the workers’ company housing (they have been called “uninhabitable” as there is no power or water).

On January 28, attorney Michael Dotts, who represents Imperial Pacific International, told the federal court that the company has no money for covering its debts and is asking for a payment plan – this is not the first or even the second time IPI has used this excuse to back out of following authorities’ orders.

On the same day, U.S. District Court for the NMI Chief Judge Ramona Mangloña ordered the IPI to find the funds to finish the payouts until March 1. If the company fails to comply, its assets will be liquidated to follow through on the previous rulings.