Yokohama to Establish Committee for IR Operator Selection

Yokohama city has revealed that it will establish a selection committee based on city ordinances for selecting a private operator responsible for the IR project.

The government’s IR Basic Policy draft states, “It is necessary to establish appropriate selection systems, such as a third party committee, to ensure fair scrutiny.”

The city intends to establish a committee to strictly implement this policy. There will be no more than seven committee members and they will be experts in tourism and MICE, regional economy, gambling dependence, urban planning and disaster prevention.

The future workflow will see the selection committee examining the business plans proposed by IR operator candidates as part of the city’s public offering. It is expected that an operator will be selected and reported to Mayor Hayashi in the latter half of 2020. Upon receiving the request, Mayor Hayashi will confirm the IR operator, and the city and operator will jointly draft an area improvement plan to apply for approval from the city council by July 2021 through a resolution of the council.