Osaka IR land lease set at US$18.3m per year

The mayor of Osaka says the sum is based on reports from four real estate appraisal companies.

Japan.- Ichiro Matsui, the mayor of Osaka, has said that land leases for the proposed integrated resort could cost JPY2.52bn (US$18.3m) a year. Speaking at a press conference, the mayor said the sum was based on reports from four real estate appraisal companies.

Osaka submitted its IR bid for a proposed site on Yumeshima, an artificial island in Osaka Bay in April. It’s selected MGM Resorts International and ORIX as partners. In comments on Thursday, Matsui said they would pay JPY428 per square metre of land, totalling about JPY210.6m per month.

He said that ahead of the bidding process, several operators had asked the city to lease the land rather than sell it.

Osaka governor confident that IR could open by 2029

Earlier this week, Osaka governor Hirofumi Yoshimura told press that he remains confident an integrated resort could still open “between autumn and winter of financial year 2029″. That’s despite a “prolonged examination” of the IR District Development Plan by the national government.

There have been fears that if approval for Osaka and Nagasaki’s integrated resort plans is delayed beyond 2022, the IRs may not meet their respective opening targets of 2029 and 2027.