The government of Cape Verde has revoked the concession for the hotel-casino project in the city of Praia. This follows the announcement of the Macau Legend Development Group’s withdrawal from the project.
President and CEO of Macau Legend Development Li Chu Kwan revealed the company’s plans to stop doing business in both Cape Verde and Cambodia by 2025 in an interview with Hong Kong’s TVB, which aired on Wednesday night.
First, we have to revoke the concession. This is a concession for operation and investment. There had already been indications for some time that there would be problems on the investor’s side, affecting their ability to complete the project.
Now we will proceed with the legal aspects to revoke the concession and then decide what destination to allocate for this investment, which cannot remain in its current state.
Ulisses Correia e Silva, Cape Verde Prime Minister
The Prime Minister claims, the group, which was created by businessman David Chow, abandoned one of Cape Verde’s most eagerly awaited tourism projects due to organizational and financial issues.
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According to Ulisses Correia e Silva, the government will now retake the area that was under concession and establish the prerequisites for the emergence of new projects on the property.
The agreement between David Chow and the government of Cape Verde was reached in 2015, and the project’s cornerstone was placed in February 2016.
A total estimated investment of 250 million euros (MOP 2.1 billion), or almost 15% of Cape Verde’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), was made in the project, which at the time involved the country’s largest tourism development.
The project called for building a 152,700 square meter tourist resort, a hotel with a 250-room boutique casino that has already been built but is still closed, a swimming pool, different restaurant and bar amenities, and a marina. In addition, a bridge was built to the islet.
The Cape Verdean government granted the company a 25-year license, 15 of which were restricted to the island of Santiago. CV Entertainment Co., a division of Macau Legend, paid about 1.2 million euros (MOP 10.2 million) for this gaming concession.
Additionally, Macau Legend was granted a unique permit to run the nation’s only online casino for ten years, as well as the sports betting market.
Cape Verde gaming laws designate five gaming zones that are: Santiago, Sao Vicente, Sal, Boa Vista, and Maio.
Two concessions have already been given, one to Macau Legend and the other to the island of Sal in Cape Verde.
There is now only one casino open and operational in Cape Verde, the Casino Royal in Santa Maria, Sal, which opened its doors in December 2016 after receiving a roughly five million euro investment.
