Imperial Pacific, a Hong Kong-based investment company, has more than doubled its investment to $7bn to build a casino resort on the western Pacific island of Saipan.

Saipan

Imperial aims to build the new resort complex, which would have more than 4,000 hotel rooms, over five years with the final phase opening in 2020.

“The board intends to satisfy the development costs of the business plan by equity and or debt financing but has not yet formulated any concrete fund-raising plan," the company said in a notice to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

The casino would be the first large-scale integrated resort on Saipan, the largest island in the US Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, which is a five-hour flight from Shanghai.

The cost of the integrated resort, previously estimated at $3bn, is far larger than for those in casino hubs such as Macau or Singapore, where casino resorts typically cost around $4bn.

The company had said in previous statements it was looking for a property in Saipan to build the resort after being granted a 25-year casino licence by the government of the Northern Marianas.

Imperial Pacific's bid to build a casino in Saipan comes as larger casino operators such as Las Vegas Sands and MGM Resorts scour Asia for new locations. Saipan residents have objected to the casino proposal, prompting Imperial Pacific to promise to distribute cash vouchers worth $10m.