Genting Malaysia Bhd announced in December 2013 that it plans to roll out a special ten year Genting Integrated Tourism Plan (GITP) that would cost the company around RM 10 billion and would involve a significant and phase wise development of its Resorts World Genting facility in Malaysia.
The GITP implementation has been ongoing for the last couple of years as the first phase involved an investment of RM 4 billion and involves the opening of a number of non-gaming facilities such as the Twentieth Century Fox World theme park, which is being developed at a cost of more than RM 2 billion. The park has been designed to be a unique theme park featuring a total of 18 state-of-the-art rides and is expected to open to the public shortly.
Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay, the chairman and chief executive officer of Resorts World Genting clarified recently that the GITP would not involve adding any extra space to the casino. In a statement, Kok Thay said “We would start to ‘soft open’ part of it at the end of this year, and progressively roll everything out next year. There will be a new gaming venue but no expansion. If you can fit more tables into the same space, why not?”
The company is focusing on increasing its non-gaming facilities which are expected to attract a higher number of foreign tourists. Genting Malaysia’s goal is to bring in 30 million visitors to the resort by the end of 2020. The Sky Avenue mall is also part of the first phase rollout and is being promoted as a lifestyle mall that is located 6,000 square feet above sea level. The mall is expected to cover nearly a million square feet and one of its special features will be the open air decks that have restaurants and cafes overlooking the Twentieth Century Fox World.
Resorts World Genting is also investing to improve its high-speed cable car frequency and capacity along, adding an additional 8,000 car parking space, new water treatment plants and power sub-stations to cater to the increase in visitors. The company plans to hire an additional 7,000 employees as part of its ramp-up plan. Phase 2 of the project will involve an investment of around RM 2 billion and will see the development of more luxury hotels at Resorts World Genting along with a world-class theatre that will seat up to 10,000 people.
The Genting Group is having a strong year in 2016 as the company reported an increase of RM 2,234.6 million, which was an increase of 13 percent during the second quarter of the year. The strong performance has been attributed to the higher gaming revenue generated by Resorts World Birmingham casino, Resorts World Casino New York City and Resorts World Bimini Casino in the Bahamas. Resorts World Malaysia did well with its hospitality and leisure arm of the business.