Cape Verde government takes possession of unfinished Macau Legend hotel-casino
The Cape Verde Government announced that it has taken possession of the assets and building of the hotel-casino that Macau Legend, an operator facing financial difficulties, began constructing in the capital, Praia, but abandoned years ago.
The takeover was formalised on Friday, concluding the reversion process relating to the project, which was based on a memorandum of understanding signed with Cape Verde in 2014 for a “tourism and property investment” in Praia Bay, including Santa Maria Islet and Gamboa beach, the Government said.
In a statement released on Saturday, the executive reiterated that it “did everything to ensure the project’s implementation”, but that the contracts were “irreparably breached” by the investors. In 2015, Macau businessman David Chow announced an investment of 250 million euros.
After subsequent revisions, completion of the first phase of the project had been scheduled for 2021. At the end of 2023, Macau Legend chairman Li Chu Kwan said the group intended to wind down its projects in Cabo Verde and Cambodia.
At present, only security guards remain at the gates of the site, an area of around 160,000 square metres that includes the islet, which has been partially excavated, and a short asphalt bridge linking it to an empty, boarded-off building of around eight storeys, whose hoardings have begun to be removed.