Osaka prefecture/city announced its proposal for the regional development plan draft related to its Yumeshima IR bid at a second capital promotion headquarters meeting.
The proposal includes goals of breaking ground in 2023 and opening the property in the autumn of 2029. The planned total floor area is set at 770,000 square meters with an estimated economic ripple effect in the surrounding Kinki region of US$13.7bn during construction and estimated annual sales of US$4.7bn.
Osaka will be holding public briefings and hearings for residents to participate in over the next two months and once the development plan is approved by both prefectural and municipal councils in February, it will be submitted to the central government by the 28 April deadline.
Osaka’s plan is to develop a metropolitan IR. The designated location is a 490,000 square meter plot on the north side of Yumeshima, a manmade island in Osaka Bay. If approved for development, the IR operator will be a consortium led by US casino giant MGM Resorts International and its local Japanese partner ORIX.
MGM Resorts Japan has joined the Osaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry, regarding which CEO Ed Bowers, commented: “We want to actively build relationships with local companies.”
Many prefectural and municipal council members are part of the Osaka Ishin Party (Initiatives from Osaka), led by IR supporter, Governor Hirofumi Yoshimura, and the decision to approve the proposal at the prefecture/city council meeting in February is considered to be a foregone conclusion.
Source: Inside Asian Gaming
