Asia

Osaka Assigns US$4.5M to IR Development in 2023 Budget

Published

2 years ago

February 20, 2023

Niji Narayan

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Osaka’s prefectural and city authorities have allotted US$4.5m in the budget for the forthcoming fiscal year to their joint pursuit of an integrated resort (IR) with a casino. This represents a 6.4% decrease from financial year 2022.

The Osaka IR promotion bureau will receive the budget allocation, with JPY115m intended for “political measures” and the remaining funds for personnel expenses. MGM Resorts International is part of a consortium with ORIX that was selected as Osaka’s IR partner for its bid to host an IR. MGM-Orix has proposed to invest US$8.38bn.

MGM hopes to open the IR by the end of 2029, but president and CEO Bill Hornbuckle has expressed frustration at the government’s lack of response to its proposal, warning that the target could be missed. The licensing process is currently being overseen by the Ministry of Land, Transport and Infrastructure.

The Osaka proposal includes three hotels providing approximately 2500 rooms, a MICE facility measuring 68,000 square meters, a 3500-seat theatre and various Japanese cultural experiences and retail facilities. It would employ about 15,000 people.

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Niji Narayan

Niji Narayan has been in the writing industry for well over a decade or so. He prides himself as one of the few survivors left in the world who have actually mastered the impossible art of copy editing. Niji graduated in Physics and obtained his Master’s degree in Communication and Journalism. He has always interested in sports writing and travel writing. He has written for numerous websites and his in-depth analytical articles top sports magazines like Cricket Today and Sports Today. He reports gaming industry headlines from all around the globe.