State-Run gambling firm Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. said construction of its USD 10-billion Entertainment City on Manila Bay will start in the first quarter next year—and despite the financial crisis that has delayed a number of casino projects in Asia. The complex would allow Pagcor to more than double its income to about USD 1.3 billion by 2012, a company official said. “We see no problems hampering construction,” the official said.

Waterfront Philippines Inc. (WPI) plans to put up a hotel and casino in the Bagong Nayong Pilipino-Manila Bay Integrated Tourism City in partnership with a Macau-based group. On the sidelines of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) project launch last week, William Gatchalian, whose family controls WPI, said the company would lease five hectares from the government to build a 2,500-room The Grand Waterfront Hotel and Casino.

Palawan Representative Antonio Alvarez, chairman of the House committee on trade and industry, is supporting the Philippine Gaming and Amusement Corporation's (Pagcor) establishment of a gambling complex near the Manila Bay on Roxas Boulevard, saying this would catch a portion of China's increasing spending on gambling and spice up the economy.