Casino construction finally gets underway, says larry claunch
One Hundred Sands Limited chairman Larry Claunch (left) with Riyaz Ali, director of civic contractors AATS Investments at the site of the casino outside Denarau Island. Photo: Litia Mathewsell
Nadi
The long overdue construction on Fiji’s first casino is finally underway outside Denarau Island, with a timeline of 18 to 20 months earmarked for its completion.
Developer One Hundred Sands Limited was supposed to be completed by October the past year but constant major delays saw construction proper start only in the past week.
One Hundred Sands chairman, Larry Claunch, said: “We’ve been working really hard to get to the point where we can actually get the earth moving and build the site up considerably.
“We had to go through all the geo-tech work to know how much to build up.”
The site, located along the Denarau stretch, covers about 17 acres of land and 206 metres of road frontage.
The site is being raised four metres from ground level, with two metres to be removed after six months to allow the existing ground to settle before construction on the buildings begin.
Mr Claunch said shifting the project from its original site on Denarau Island to its present site did cause some delays.
“The biggest thing is the geo-tech work is completed. We bored a number of holes 50 metres down and now we have the engineering that the ground is good so that was a major accomplishment,” he said.
‘’The next step is moving all the dirt, which is going on now, and getting it all leveled out. There’ll be walls in the air by year’s end- absolutely,’’ Mr Claunch added.
The delays
Mr Claunch said the delays to the project was because they had to completely redesign some aspects of the casino.
But, he said the basic overall project remains as it was designed in the beginning.
On the US$100,000 fine being paid to Government, Mr Claunch said: “The good thing about the fine is that all of it is going to really good causes.
“So I’m very happy with Government and the position they’ve taken on that. The fine is going to areas in Fiji that really need it.”
Features and attractions
The casino will be a single-level tall building located separately from the convention center.
Resort rooms are also expected to be laid out towards a marina, which will be built simultaneously as the casino.
Mr Claunch said a water park would not part of the master plan as they opted for a marina instead.
The construction period is expected to create about 800 jobs with the completed casino complex earmarked to create 400 to 500 employment opportunities.
The project’s construction is contracted to the Nadi-based AATS Investments and the whole project is billed at around $290 million.
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