MARIANA Eland Corp. is proposing $220 million in improvements to the property previously occupied by Kan Pacific’s Mariana Resort & Spa in Marpi.
The 144.92-hectare property has been idle since June 2018 when Kan Pacific left the CNMI.
On Oct. 11, 2024, the Department of Public Lands submitted to the Legislature Mariana Eland’s proposal to lease the property.
A lease agreement involving public land that is more than five hectares requires the approval of both houses of the Legislature in a joint session.
Financial management advisor Richard S. Villagomez, in an acting capacity as DPL secretary, informed Senate President Edith Deleon Guerrero and Speaker Edmund S. Villagomez that Eland plans to renovate Mariana Resort’s existing structures, including its 18-hole golf course and the golf course reception house and villas. Eland, in addition, will develop a Micronesia Cultural Center and a premium shopping mall, construct a cliff hotel and restaurant, and redesign the swimming pool park.
DPL’s Villagomez said these improvements will result in increased economic activities from the purchase and import of construction materials, employment opportunities for construction and hospitality workers, tourism revenues, local businesses that provide supporting goods and services, and taxes associated with these activities.
A new land lease between DPL and Eland, he said, “could bring significant economic activity to the CNMI and enhance Saipan as a tourist destination.”
“I think we can all agree that these are outcomes the CNMI has been pursuing, considering the current economic situation of our Commonwealth,” he added.
DPL’s Villagomez also informed the Legislature that DPL has been preserving the value of the property since it reverted to DPL in 2018.
He said DPL has been spending $22,000 to $25,000 a month on periodic landscaping, airing out the hotel rooms to prevent mold buildup and rust, running the generators to power up air-conditioning units and water pumps, and other maintenance measures, which include hiring security services.
He said DPL is relying on Eland to assume these costs and start making improvements to the property as soon as the lease is approved by the Legislature.
The monthly cost of maintaining the property, he said, is exorbitant, and the longer it takes for the Legislature to act on the proposed lease agreement, “the deeper the financial impact will be on the department’s bare-bones budget.”
“Should the lease not be approved soon, DPL may have no choice but to defer all maintenance and security measures for the property. In addition, the financial impact could result in austerity, furloughs, and cuts to operations that may affect DPL’s daily operations and revenue-generating ability overall,” the acting DPL secretary said.
He asked the Senate president and the House speaker to schedule a joint session to approve the proposed lease agreement.
Variety was unable to get a comment from the Senate president or the House speaker.
