It's being characterized as a deal that was already finalized, but last month Galaxy Entertainment purchased a piece of land it needs to complete its Galaxy World hotel casino from the Macau government.

The company paid US$366 million for the land, which covers almost 450,000 square meters. Galaxy is building a mega-resort on the land, which reportedly will cost in excess of $2 billion. When the economy slumped, Galaxy virtually halted construction on the project, but that is slated to change. The company will invest at least $500 million to finish the exterior of the building.

"We will finish the external construction of the resort by the end of 2009, leaving only the interior decoration remaining to be done," said Galaxy Deputy Chairman Francis Lui. "The company will then decide whether to speed up construction on its 2,200-room resort project, after reviewing the sustainability of the economic recovery by the end of 2009."

Lui says the company hopes to open the resort sometime in 2010.

By GGB Staff

Staff writers for Global Gaming Business magazine. Las Vegas, Nevada.