Undersecretary of Tourism, Benjamin Liberof, the National Director of Tourism
Carlos Fagetti and Director General of Tourism, Hyara Rodríguez, are the ones
that participated in the parliamentary committee session.
Deputy Elizabeth Arrieta, who called for the meeting, stressed the "current
uncertainty for the workers of the establishment, which employs about 240
people directly. In the new terms and conditions which are being configured
only a hotel would be included contrary to what was carried out in the first
tender which also included a mixed casino,” she said.
Appearing before Parliament’s Standing Committee, Tourism Minister Liliam Kechichian reported that the tender had been abandoned after the licence for the hotel received only a single offer from the current concessionaire, who made a proposal to only take care of hotel services, disregarding the services of a mixed casino, as foreseen in the initial bidding document.
The tender process for the casino and the
hotel in Piriápolis was first announced in December 2015 by Uruguay’s Tourism
Minister. According to the plans of the original tender, the new operator would
run the hotel and would also be part operator of the new casino under the mixed
system.
The licence to run the hotel is for 30 years and is open to both Uruguayan and
international companies, while the casino licence is valid for fifteen years.
However he current operators of the hotel and casino, Méndez and Pereira
Sociedad Colectiva, were the only company to put in an offer for the hotel.
