September 14, 2025 | 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines — Travellers International Hotel Group Inc., the leisure and tourism arm of Andrew Tan’s Alliance Global Group Inc., and its listed partner Suntrust Resort Holdings Inc. will pour in as much as $450 million to finish the $1.25-billion Westside City development in Parañaque.
Travellers International president and CEO Nilo Thaddeus Rodriguez said the integrated resort development, which is approximately 70 percent complete, would still need up to $450 million to be finished.
“The $1.25-billion Westside City development is now full speed ahead, with an opening targeted for the third quarter of 2026,” Rodriguez said.
“The focus now is completing Westside and operating it as soon as we can,” he said.
Rodriguez said the project would feature over 2,500 hotel keys across three brands, more than 2,000 gaming machines and tables, a curated lineup of restaurants and lifestyle concepts as well as a theater district led by the Apollo Theater and the Grand Opera House.
“Westside City will be more than a destination — it is a commitment to Filipino talent and world-class entertainment, designed to strengthen tourism and position the Philippines on the global stage,” he said.
Rodriguez said that Travellers International intends to provide patrons with a different customer experience with the Westside City project.
“It will get you closer to what you see in Marina Bay Sands or Macau. It’s a type of experience. A little bit more flavor of that. Stuff that are, hopefully, we know we’re not in the market today. So that’s going to be our platform to be able to do that,” he said.
Travellers International has recently taken the lead in development of the Westside City project
Suntrust, the Philippine unit of Hong Kong’s LET Group, earlier said that it is pursuing a strategic working agreement with Travellers International, Westside City Inc., Westside Bayshore Holding Corp. and Entertainment City Resorts Corp. (ECRC) to expedite the completion of the integrated resort project.
Under the agreement, Suntrust will effectively hold a 20-percent indirect interest of ECRC, a subsidiary of Westside Bayshore Holding Corp. (WBHC), which assumed all rights and obligations related to the Westside integrated resort project to ensure its timely construction, development, completion and operation.
WBHC is a holding company and subsidiary of Travellers International, a developer of integrated resorts and operator of gaming facilities under a license issued by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.
Amid the surge of online and electronic gaming in the country, Rodriguez said that land-based integrated resorts must remain relevant.
“Our role is not diminished but redefined — to anchor tourism, to deliver culture and entertainment, and to provide the human connection and experiences that online play can never replicate,” Rodriguez said.
“Our response to these shifts is clear: we continue to expand our portfolio and elevate our standards. By extending our integrated resort footprint, we are not only scaling up but also creating new experiences for customers and growing the market itself,” he said.
