Wakayama IR Promotion Council Urges Prefecture to Select IR Partner Soon

The Wakayama IR Promotion Council has urged the prefectural government to take a decision as soon as possible on its preferred private partner for its IR bid.

Wakayama prefecture announced in January that two private partner candidates, Suncity Group and Clairvest Neem Ventures, had applied for its IR bid, but the target date for an IR partner selection has been pushed back several times.

According to local media, the target date will occur in the spring of this year but little has been known in recent months.

Katsuaki Shirako, secretary-general of the IR Promotion Council, said: “When considering the era after the coronavirus, Wakayama will have a very difficult economic environment if the IR does not come.”

According to Wakayama prefecture’s policy, the IR development must offer a symbolic landmark and be technologically advanced, including MICE facilities covering 50,000 square meters and a casino comprising no more than 3% of the entire area.

In September 2020, the prefecture extended the deadline for request-for-proposal submissions from potential private sector partners by almost three months to January 2021.