Osaka could face extra US$175mln for land work at IR site

Sep 08, 2023 Newsdesk Japan, Latest News, Top of the deck  

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Japan’s Osaka metropolis might need to use an extra JPY25.7 billion (US$174.6 million) of public money for land improvement at its chosen site for an integrated resort (IR) with casino.

Such further spending could be incurred subsequent to the project opening circa autumn 2030, and would relate to a 6-hectare (14.8-acre) plot of land definitively earmarked for IR expansion, and a further 14 hectares currently for car parks and landscaping, but that could also be utilised for facilities expansion, reported local media outlets.

They cited comments by officials from the Integrated Resort Promotion Bureau of Osaka prefecture and city. The Osaka authorities are already committed to spending JPY78.8 billion to deal with soil liquefaction and contamination issues at the main 49-hectare site on Yumeshima, an artificial island in Osaka Bay, before construction of the MGM Osaka casino resort begins.

Osaka’s private-sector partners on the project are led by U.S. casino operator MGM Resorts International and Japan’s Orix Corp.

The 6 hectares definitively earmarked for possible IR expansion would incorporate further space for meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE) events and extra hotel rooms, according to an updated draft implementation compact drawn up between Osaka authorities and their private-sector partners, and made public on Tuesday.

The Osaka authorities and the developers of the MGM Osaka project will determine any further project expansion within 10 years of its initial opening, which is now scheduled to take place circa autumn 2030, about a year later than previously suggested, the latest draft agreement mentioned. The initial development cost will also be 17.6 percent higher than a prior estimate, at JPY1.27 trillion.

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