Báez also said that the exact location of the new casino is yet to be decided upon as it will be up to those taking part to decide on where in Alto Paraná they plan to build the casino. The evaluation committee will be formed once a full meeting of the gaming board had been held. Once that is over, other details regarding the process will be revealed.
These are Casinos Paraguayos SA, an offer put forward by businessman Antonio Aranda Encina and LAGG Paraguay SA.
The new tender is the first since the failure of what could have been a major casino investment in Paraguay. In January then head of the gaming commission Javier Balbuena confirmed the cancellation of the construction of a casino and hotel on the eleven-hectare site owned by the National Administration of Navigation and Ports (ANNP).
The ANNP property is located at the head of the Friendship Bridge (Puente de la Amistad) – an arch bridge connecting the Brazilian city of Foz do Iguaçu and Ciudad del Este.
Former president Horacio Cartes authorised the call for tender and in March 2017. However, the building of the large-scale casino was the subject of considerable controversy from the very beginning. Union officials had rejected the use of the land as they argued that it violated the use of commercial, financial, or industrial operations, which are not in keeping with the port’s main objective. They also claimed that the concession of the 11-hectare site was carried out without the approval of the Board of the ANNP.
Charges were also put forward against the mayor of Ciudad del Este Sandra McLeod de Zacarías Irún as well as a number of ex city officials over accusations that they had unlawfully paved the way for the use of the institution’s land valued at around US$185m for the construction of the hotel and casino.
Source: GMB / G3 Newswire
