ALTER City Group, an investor on Tinian whose land lease agreement with the Department of Public Lands was terminated last month, is a victim of “geopolitical factors” affecting potential investment in the CNMI, Tinian Mayor Edwin P. Aldan said.
In a statement on Tuesday, Aldan said, “It is unfortunate that Alter City Group was unable to complete their proposed hotel and casino resort on Tinian which resulted in the termination of their public land lease.”
He said as mayor of Tinian and Aguiguan, he will always support investments that will promote the tourism industry and create private sector jobs.
“I believe Alter City Group had very good intentions to build a first-class resort on Tinian, but unfortunately fell victim to external geopolitical factors,” the Tinian mayor said.
However, as with any investor, Aldan said, Alter City Group is still required to comply with the terms of its lease agreement with the Department of Public Lands and applicable laws and regulations.
He said he hopes Alter City Group will be able to “downsize” or “right size” their project for Tinian “as we look forward to strengthening our partnership with Alter City Group in the development of Tinian’s tourism industry.”
Responding to DPL’s notice of default, Alter City Group Director Johnny Leong said new laws in China prohibiting travel for the purpose of gambling also prohibited casino operators from reaching out to Chinese tourists to travel to casinos outside China.
Leong told DPL that Chinese travelers and investors are also prohibited from wiring money to other countries.
He said these are the reasons why Alter City Group was unable to get commitments from its business partners.
Variety learned that Alter City Group still owes a four-story building in Garapan under a new company name, Nobleman Inc.
In 2014, Macau-based Alter City Group leased 152 hectares of public land for its proposed $360 million casino resort project on Tinian.
The project involved the construction of a 500-room Plumeria Golf & Casino Resort, including 150 corporate villas, an 18-hole international golf course, a clubhouse with driving range facility, a medical center, a farmer’s market, a training center, retail services, conservatory, and staff dormitories.
