Akihabara News (Tokyo) — The planned casino resort on Osaka’s manmade Yumeshima island, once targeted for an early 2025 opening, has now slipped back to an anticipated launch in late 2030. Moreover, the price tag for the initiative also continues to rise.
Osaka Governor Hirofumi Yoshimura explained that “as a result of various procedures, the opening will be delayed for another year.” He added that “we expect no further postponements.”
The local authorities also indicated that, due to rising construction costs, related to both materials and workforce, the initial investment to create the resort is now estimated at 1.27 trillion yen (US$8.6 billion), up significantly from the previous estimate of 1.08 trillion yen (US$7.3 billion).
The taxpayers of Osaka prefecture and city will be on the hook for approximately 25.7 billion yen (US$170 million) to decontaminate and reinforce the soil on the 492,000 square meter plot of land upon which the resort will be located.
The Osaka project is so far the only Integrated Resort (IR) which has been licensed by the central government. A final decision on Nagasaki Prefecture’s application is still pending.
MGM Resorts and the Orix Corporation are both 40% partners in the Yumeshima IR development, with smaller Japanese companies owning the remainder.
Construction is expected to begin around spring 2025.
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