Macau's newest casino resort, the HK$3.1 billion Ponte 16, continues to await government approval to open an attached hotel and restaurants more than three months after its grand opening on February 1.
The Mediterranean-themed resort in the city's inner harbour district has yet to receive occupancy permits for its 404-room Sofitel hotel and several restaurants, according to management.
'The [Ao Man-long] bribery issue has slowed [the approval process],' Ponte 16 deputy chief executive and Macau Success executive director Hoffman Ma Ho-man said.
'Hopefully we can get the licences by the end of this month.'
The resort employs 2,000 people. It is 51 per cent owned by Stanley Ho Hung-sun's Sociedade de Jogos de Macau (SJM), 44 per cent by VIP gaming hall operator Sonny Yeung Hoi-sing's Macau Success, and 5 per cent by major Japanese pachinko firm Maruhan.
The online reservations website of Accor, the French hotel management chain that owns the Sofitel brand, lists the Macau property as scheduled to open in July.
Ponte 16 appears to be the latest project to suffer delays following the Ao scandal, which saw former Macau transport and public works secretary Ao Man-long sentenced on January 30 to serve a jail term of 27 years for taking tens of millions of dollars in kickbacks to help property developers win lucrative construction tenders.