GGRAsia – RFKR must restart build within 3 mths or risk govt rethink

RFKR must restart build within 3 mths or risk govt rethink

Apr 21, 2023 Newsdesk Latest News, Rest of Asia, Top of the deck

The South Korean government has confirmed to GGRAsia that the promoters of the RFKR Resort casino project at Incheon must restart building work within three months, or the authorities might reconsider the latest 12-month extension on the first-phase deadline.

R&F Korea (RFKR), a firm linked to Hong Kong-listed Chinese developer Guangzhou R&F Properties Co Ltd, is the entity behind the scheme.

The promoter has been seeking a gaming-operations partner for the foreigner-only casino slated for the site, since the pre-merger Caesars Entertainment Corp pulled out several years ago.

South Korea’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism told GGRAsia’s local correspondent this week in response to our enquiry, that the conditions for the first-phase deadline extension to March 17, 2024, covered several points.

They included: submitting by July proof that construction had resumed; providing within 12 months a casino-operations plan and evidence of a casino partner; submitting an investment pledge within the same time frame; and reporting on a quarterly basis, evidence of foreign direct investment by RFKR.

GGRAsia has approached the Incheon Free Economic Zone Authority (IFEZA) the body responsible for the area where the project sits, for information about the amount of investment RFKR must pledge in total, and how much it must show evidence of, on a quarterly basis.

The ministry’s general conditions followed a presentation made to it by RFKR on April 7, soon after the expiry of the previous deadline. The new right of extension was only confirmed to RFKR recently, the firm had told GGRAsia.

If RFKR failed within three months to demonstrate its construction had restarted, the Ministry might “carefully” reconsider its own position, the government department noted to GGRAsia.

The resort site is in the Incheon Free Economic Zone on Yeongjong island, near the country’s main air hub, Incheon International Airport.