Senate Resolution 17-60 was adopted by a vote of 7-1, with Sen. Luis P. Crisostimo, Ind.-Saipan, casting the lone “no” vote and Sen. Ralph DLG. Torres, R-Saipan, abstaining.
COP’s public land lease expires next month, and the Senate has asked DPL to allow the golf resort to continue leasing the property in Koblerville.
The golf resort wants to extend its lease for another 15 years.
The new owners of Suwaso Corporation, a combination of Japanese and local investors, have proposed a “revitalization plan,” which includes a $15 million investment to construct 200 additional hotel rooms and upgrade the existing golf resort and course, $7 million investment for operational funding, $4 million for alternative energy installment, $10 million to construct an entertainment center, and $6 million to transform the hotel spa and pool into a 6-star spa management.
The total investment amounts to $42 million.
Crisostimo told his colleagues that Coral Ocean Point owes the CNMI $4 million in taxes.
“How has COP operated for the last 20 years?” he asked. “[COP] has cast the CNMI people aside.”
Crisostimo said most investors have not been helping the local labor force in the commonwealth.
According to the revitalization plan, COP will create 180 new jobs for the commonwealth.
“We have been asking DPL to put up a request for proposal in order to lease public land. We have been very serious about that because we saw the need for this project,” Senate President Paul A. Manglona told reporters.
Manglona, Ind.-Rota, said he wants the Legislature to sit down with the COP owners because of their good proposals.
“Renovation work is in the millions of dollars. That means that when the renovation is done in six months to a year, the company can actively promote and market the CNMI as a beautiful resource for the tourism industry and this will result in more employment opportunities for our people,” he said.
“The sooner we act, the sooner there will be opportunities for everyone. Hopefully, it will move forward.”
