Osaka to finalise IR project implementation draft agreement

Osaka and MGM-Orix will finalise a draft agreement for their integrated resort by September.

Japan.- Osaka governor Hirofumi Yoshimura has announced that the local government and the MGM-Orix consortium chosen as its IR partner will finalise a draft agreement for the implementation of the project by September. The agreement will include a development schedule for the IR, which has been approved by Japan’s national government.

Yoshimura said that government authorities and MGM-Orix representatives have already started to study the development schedule and likely opening date, which, according to MGM Resorts CEO Bill Hornbuckle, will be in the first half of 2030.

Yoshimura had originally reaffirmed his intention to target a 2029 opening, but he now says it is “quite reasonable” to delay the opening since the central government did not give its approval to the Osaka Integrated Resort District (IR) Development Plan until April, half a year later than expected.

The project is worth JPY1.08tn (US$8.38bn) and will feature hotels, shops, an international convention centre and a casino. About 20 million people a year are expected to visit, including 6 million visitors from abroad, generating sales of JPY520bn annually, with JPY420bn coming from gambling revenue.

Questions remain about Nagasaki’s casino plans for Sasebo, which are still under review by the central government.