In the Philippines, the government of the Subic Special Economic and Freeport Zone has unveiled plans to build and operate a $300 million Las Vegas-style casino destination complete with a pair of new hotels.

The Chairman of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority, Eduardo Jose Alino, told the Philippine Daily Inquirer newspaper that the first phase of the ‘world-class’ Sun Convention Resort and Casino facility could open by the end of 2025 on a 15-acre site adjacent to the existing Ayala Malls Harbour Point shopping center. 

The administrator went on to reveal that the arrangement also calls for the complex to eventually play host to five-star hotels offering convention and meeting capabilities, as well as restaurants, gyms, and bars.

Accommodation Aim

Global hotelier Accor International Group has been tasked with building and running the two coming hotels, beginning with the 175-room Ibis Styles Subic. The Paris-headquartered firm explained this economic development is to offer a swimming pool, meeting rooms, and a gym all within a ten-minute walk of the nearby Subic Bay Yacht Club.

Accor International Group asserted it subsequently intends to construct and operate the adjacent Mercure Subic hotel, offering ‘250 modern-designed rooms that draw inspiration from local influences’. The operator, moreover, declared that this development is to feature a swimming pool with a bar, a gym, and ‘versatile’ conference and meeting spaces alongside an all-day dining venue and ‘a specialty restaurant’.

“We are all excited to see the realization of a magnificent architectural concept, which I am certain will steer the economic growth of the freeport to greater heights,” Alino said.

Pronounced Purpose

The site of a United States Navy base until 1992, the 35,000-acre Subic Special Economic and Freeport Zone, colloquially known as ‘Subic Bay’, already hosts the slots-only Subic Bay Venezia facility from the state-owned Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCor). 

However, the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority is hoping the envisioned casino resort to be run by its own Subic Sun Convention Resort and Casino Incorporated entity will help boost the local economy by increasing international tourism.

Pablo Edgardo Puyat serves as the Chair and President of Sun Convention Resort and Casino Incorporated and he described the coming Sun Convention Resort and Casino venue as ‘a pioneering hotel establishment’ he believes will furthermore assist with the development of the wider region’s hospitality industry.

“Both the Ibis Styles Subic and Mercure Subic are in the company’s economy and mid-scale segments, respectively,” Puyat said. “Ibis Styles Subic is set to open in 2026 and is the first internationally branded hotel in the Subic Special Economic and Freeport Zone.”