SJM’s Lisboeta could be delayed until 2021

The opening of the Lisboeta hotel resort could be postponed until next year due to the impact of the pandemic.

Macau.- The opening of the new hotel resort Lisboeta, operated by SJM Holdings, could be delayed until 2021, according to the company’s co-chairman and executive director, Angela Leong On Kei.

Speaking during celebrations to mark the 71st anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, Leong said that despite the property obtaining all the required government licences, the company was evaluating the economic impact of the pandemic before setting a date for the launch.

The pandemic has severely hit the industry in Macau. According to official data, cumulative gaming revenues for the first nine months of this year were down by 82.5 per cent year-on-year to some MOP38.6 billion.

Visitor arrivals in the city were down by 86 per cent year-on-year to about 3.2 million between January and July. Despite the resumption of individual tourist visas for mainland China residents, the tally of visitors remains low.

The HK$5 billion (US$650 million) Lisboeta Macau was developed by Macau Theme Park and Resort Ltd, a company headed by Arnaldo Ho, Angela’s son with the late tycoon Stanley Ho.

Lisboeta was granted a four-star hotel licence by the Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO) in August.

The new resort is expected to include the first urban zipline in the Asia-Pacific, an indoor skydiving enclosure, an art deco-themed cinema with nine screens, including IMAX, MX4D and VIP screens operated by Emperor Cinemas, and an architectural replica of the famous Macau Palace boathouse casino.

Located next to Macau East Asian Games Dome, the property will include three hotels with 820 rooms, the Lisboeta Hotel, the Maison L’occitane Hotel, and a LINE Friends Casa d’Amigo in a 12-storey tall Y-shaped tower.