By Pacific Island Times News Staff
Saipan Portopia, the former operator of the now-closed Hyatt Regency Saipan, has begun negotiating with a potential investor to take over the property in Garapan, CNMI Gov. Arnold Palacios said.
“Portopia is going to make a decision with the CNMI government as to whom it will be transferred to,” Palacios said. “They already have a potential investor that they would like to assign it to.”
Details, however, are not immediately available.
“That's moving along but I don't want to give any details because it's being held in embargo,” the governor said.
Hyatt Regency Saipan shuttered its doors on June 30, ending its 43 years of operation on Saipan.
“Despite our best efforts and after months of careful consideration and exploring many avenues, the harsh realities of the current landscape have forced us to make the difficult decision to close this special place,” Hitoshi Nakauchi, president of Saipan Portopia Corp., said during the announcement in May.
The announcement of Hyatt's closure came barely a few months after Saipan Portopia negotiated a new 40-year public land lease.
Industry stakeholders Hyatt’s shutdown highlighted the dismal condition of the CNMI’s tourism, the commonwealth’s main economic driver.
Palacios, however, said tourism is beginning to pick up.
Another lease transaction in the pipeline is the Rota Resort, Palacios said.
The Department of Public Lands earlier this month issued a request for proposals to lease the 1.2 million sqm public land previously occupied by Rota Resort & Country Club.
“That took so long because of the court proceedings that the previous lease owner was holding DPL to, but that has been pretty much resolved,” Palacios said.
The Superior Court recently denied Rota Resort owner Hee Kyun Cho’s request to stay the enforcement of DPL's notice of land lease termination.
“DPL is requesting proposals for a new company to come in and take over the property and get that hotel up and running,” Palacios said.
The property, featuring an 18-hole golf course, has remained idle for many years. The hotel facilities are in deteriorating condition, prompting DPL to issue a notice of violation of land lease contract before terminating the lease on March 8.
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