SJM Ready to compete - an interview with Frank (2)

Have you got already a schedule for Grand Lisboa’s full opening?
Frank : We already have the first 19 floors working, they are just not open to the public so we use them to accommodate(能容納;能提供) our VIP guests.
If you ask me – for me that I’m relatively new here, 4 year only – something related with Government construction procedures, and our own construction companies procedures.
I admin it is for me completely fog(霧,困惑).
Anyway, I guess we have an inspection today, so let’s see how the inspection(檢查,視察) goes.
We hope to open before Easter, but till the license is actually stamped(貼郵票於;蓋章於;打上(標記等)) your tend(走向,趨勢) not to make predictions on it.


What brand new feature it will be adding to our hotel industry?
It’s a 230 meter building in the peninsula(半島), with rather(相當,頗) large and luxurious rooms.
Alongside(在...旁邊;沿著...的邊) with Wynn, MGM, Starworld, The Royal Arc and others, it’s located in the Lakes development area, which is more integrated into the local Macau environment.
And then there is a brand new area of development, which has far more space, where there’s lower density(密集) and exhibitions(展覽會), in the Cotai Strip.
Most people are in both sides if they did not believe in both of them.
The market seems to be symbiotic(共生的) in that you have one area that is primarily(主要地) gaming motivated, and you have another that is business motivated.
And of course there will be an overlap, but everybody is investing in both locations to make sure they have coverage(覆蓋) .
So it’s very interesting, and not like the traditional Las Vegas market, where everyone reinvented(重複發明) themselves in the Strip and let the centre die.



The building has been a matter(事情,問題,事件;事態) of great controversy(爭論;爭議). What is your opinion about it?
It’s a difficult building to manage, but it’s a wonderful building to look at. And that is what normally happens.
It was built for aesthetic(美學的;審美的) reasons, in order to make a statement, and I think it will end up in the stamps. It will become – one of the most used words nowadays in Macau – “iconic”(肖像的,代表性的).
Just like the old Lisboa, which became a statement for a new Macau when it was first designed, the Grand Lisboa will soon become one of Macau’s landmarks. It’s fabulous(驚人的,[口]極好的) to look at.
And it’s difficult to run because it has so many floors.
Our gaming is on 4th floor, while everyone else have them on 1st floor; we recognize that, but that’s the cost of having this sort of draw.


What kind of building can you raise next to this one?
That’s interesting to think about. That’s why when we started looking at redeveloping the old Libora in order to compete with the new entrants in the market across the road, our idea was to let people know what we are doing.
So we’ve got at the moment eight architects from Europe, United States, Southeast Asia and Hong Kong involved in a design competition where a panel familiar with Macau will have the final say.
We want to show the initial designs and let the public comment on them.
I don’t know what is will come out in the end, but I think it can work.