Rail connectivity to Yumeshima island (pictured in a file photo), the planned home of MGM Osaka, Japan’s first integrated resort (IR) with casino, is to be expanded via a new through-line of the overground railway system.
The new link, which will be an extension of the Kintetsu Nara line, will open “a little before” the planned launch in the autumn of 2030 of the JPY1.27-trillion (US$8.46-billion currently) MGM Osaka.
That is according to comments reported on Tuesday from Takashi Wakai, president of Kintetsu Group Holdings Co Ltd, the parent firm of the line’s operator. The report of his remarks didn’t give further details.
It would mean that Nara to the east of Osaka, will have a direct link for the circa 45-kilometre (28-mile) journey to Yumeshima. Nara, the capital of Nara prefecture, is a tourism destination in its own right, as a site of temples and other ancient buildings.
The MGM Osaka scheme is due to have a ground breaking ceremony on April 24, said recently Bill Hornbuckle, chief executive and president of U.S.-based casino operator MGM Resorts International, one of the project’s main backers.
When non-gaming leisure and entertainment facilities by third-party backers are taken into consideration, total investment in Yumeshima could be US$15 billion, according to information from the Osaka authorities.
January saw the opening of an Osaka metro line station on Yumeshima. The metro station’s launch coincides with Expo 2025 Osaka, an international exhibition be held at Yumeshima from April 13 to October 13 this year.
(Updated 3.53pm, March 27)
