Osaka City Council gives go ahead for IR bid
The Osaka City Council has given its approval to plans to apply to host an integrated resort.
Japan.- A week after the Osaka prefectural council voted in favour of its IR district development plan, the Osaka City Council has also given its approval to plans to apply to host an Ir. At the final plenary meeting of the current session of the council, Osaka Restoration and Komeito members, which together have 58 out of 83 seats, voted in favour of the IR Regional Development Plan.
The Liberal Democratic Party voted against the Osaka plan and raised concerns about the additional cost of ground survey work on the artificial island in Osaka Bay. Recent discussions suggest that new land stabilisation and rehabilitation works may be required before the casino project can be built, with Osaka authorities expected to incur an additional cost of JPY79bn (US$638.1m).
The prefecture’s operator partner, the MGM-Orix consortium has proposed to invest JPY1tn (US$9.1bn) in the planned IR. The proposed site is an artificial island: Dream Island, in Osaka Bay. The project has a target date of opening in 2029.
April 28 is the deadline for local governments to submit casino resort proposals to state authorities. Currently, only three cities are expected to bid for licences: Nagasaki, Osaka and Wakayama. That means all three could win licences.
See also: Wakayama publishes final IR district development plan
