In Macau and prominent casino operator Melco International Development Limited has reportedly announced that it has begun building the second stage of its giant Studio City Macau venue.

According to a report from GGRAsia, the Hong Kong-listed firm used an official Monday filing to detail that it now intends to spend between $1.35 billion and $1.41 billion in order to increase the size of the 1,600-room Cotai Strip property and hopes to have completed all relevant work in a little over 24 months’ time.

Added accommodation:

Melco International Development Limited opened the $3.2 billion first phase of its Studio City Macau in October of 2015 and now manages the venue’s operations via its Melco Resorts and Entertainment Limited subsidiary. The firm reportedly used the filing to additionally state that the iconic property’s second stage is to include a pair of hotel towers featuring some 900 extra rooms alongside a cinema, facilities for exhibitions and meetings and ‘one of the world’s largest indoor water parks’.

Pricey project:

GGRAsia reported that the update from Melco International also revealed that the firm has already spent approximately $80.7 million of its overall budget on planning and designing the second phase of the Macau development, which is now to be built by China State Construction International Holdings Limited as part of a contract said to be worth around $836 million.

Coronavirus concerns:

Hong Kong-headquartered Melco International Development Limited furthermore reportedly pronounced that local delays engendered by the recent coronavirus shutdown means that there is now ‘no guarantee’ that it will have finished all of the work on the Studio City Macau enlargement by the expiration of a government-imposed deadline on May 31, 2022. Should it subsequently need more time, the casino firm purportedly declared that it would be forced to ask the government of Macau to set a new and extended cut-off date.

Reportedly read the filing from Melco Int’l…

“Prior to the coronavirus outbreak, we estimated a construction period of approximately 32 months for the remaining project. With the disruptions from the coronavirus outbreak, the construction period may be delayed and extend beyond the estimated approximately 32 months. In the event that additional time is required to complete the development of the remaining land of Studio City Macau, we will have to apply for an extension of the relevant development period, which shall be subject to Macau government review and approval at its discretion.”

Coming completions:

Melco International moreover used the filing to explain that it had started work on a wide-ranging overhaul of its adjacent 290-room Nuwa facility. As if all of this wasn’t enough and the firm purportedly finished by proclaiming that it is well on its way to unveiling a trio of new luxury villas for its nearby City of Dreams Macau development and redeveloping this venue’s 26-room The Countdown Hotel before re-opening the boutique venue as The Libertine Hotel sometime next year.