Queensland pushes for IR investors

The Australian State wants to establish new integrated resorts in the area after failing to succeed with a bidding round four years ago.

Australia.- Late July or August could be an important date for casino investors as the government of Queensland is set to call for a bidding process to establish integrated resorts (IRs) in the state. The government will probe the private sector’s interest in developing IRs, four years after a previous round of bidding which was unsuccessful.

The Queensland government could issue two casino licences for the projects (to be developed at Cairns and the Gold Coast) and may give the two IR permits to one operator. Nonetheless, the investment proposals are set to be way lower than the US$6 billion projects which were expected in 2014, an amount so large that ultimately meant their failure. This time, developments are expected to be around US$2.2-3.7 billion in Cairns and US$1.1 billion in the Gold Coast.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has travelled to Las Vegas and Macau recently and, reports say, she met potential investors. Apparently, there is already some expressions of interest in Cairns as ten potential investors may have already registered their names.

The government expects the new IRs to boost an already thriving tourism sector which contributes US$17 million to Queensland’s economy and supports over 230,000 jobs.