Delta Corp Reveals Ambitious Plans in Goa, New Vessel to Replace Deltin Caravela & ₹1.5K Crore Investment For Integrated Resort in Pernem

Delta Corp, India’s only BSE-listed casino and hospitality giant, is looking to make sizable investments to consolidate its dominance over Goa`s casino sector. If a recent announcement by the company’s Chief Operating Officer (CFO), Hardik Dhebar, is anything to go by, the company plans to spend ₹150 Crores in building a new casino vessel to replace the Deltin Caravela. This vessel will be made at the company’s recently acquired Waterways Shipyard and is expected to be ready by mid-2022.

Deltin Caravela happens to be the smallest of the three offshore casinos operated by the Delta Corp in Goa. Divulging the companies plans during an investor conference late last month, Dhebar said, “We’re trying to make the best of both worlds.”

He added, “We’re going to invest in the hope that in the four to five years that it will take us to build the integrated electronic cargo, the government will change the policy and the law and permit live gaming on-shore.”

From the above, it’s apparent that Delta Corp is betting on the Goa government favoring live gaming in the future and is willing to make significant investments to back that claim. The gaming conglomerate estimates an investment of between ₹1,000 to ₹1,500 Crores to develop its proposed integrated resort over 100 acres of land close to Mopa Airport at Pernem. The resort should be ready for business in five years. Once it does, with a modern layout packed with electronic casinos, water parks, themed hotels, and theatres, Delta Corp will become a very dominant operator in Goa’s casino business.

The ambitious plans have been in the making for some time now. Last October-end, 2020, Delta Corp acquired a 45% stake in the Waterways Shipyard Pvt. Ltd, located in Udupi, Karnataka for ₹15.5 Crores via its subsidiary, Delta Pleasure Cruise Co.

A month later, the company received in-principle approval from the Goa Investment Promotion and Facilitation Board to set up an integrated resort at Pernem. Delta Corp had released an official statement then, outlining its ambitious plans – “The integrated resort is expected to be one of its kind in the country. The project is expected to boost tourism, employment, and infrastructure of the state of Goa.”

Once the new vessel is ready to operate, Caravela will boast a significantly bigger casino set-up than Delta Corp’s other two offshore casinos – Deltin JAQK and Deltin Royale.