CoD to open in 2021
Hong Kong-listed Melco Resorts & Entertainment has announced that it will soon break ground on City of Dreams Mediterranean, the first integrated resort in the Greek-controlled part of the island of Cyprus. It will break ground on a temporary casino there on June 28.
According to Inside Asian Gaming, the 12 million (US$14 million) temporary facility is now being built near the site of the €550 million (US$649 million) City of Dreams complex. When complete, it will include 33 gaming tables and 242 electronic gaming machines. Melco’s casino license also permits it to run four satellite casinos in Cyprus. The first two, in Nicosia and Paphos, will open in November. Third will open in January 2019 and the fourth in the following May.
The permanent IR is scheduled to open in 2021 with 136 gaming tables and 1,200 electronic gaming machines; a 500-room hotel; 11 restaurants; 1,200 square meters (12,900 square feet) of retail space and almost 10,000 square meters (107,000 square feet) of meeting and exhibition space.
Speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony, Melco Resorts Chairman and CEO Lawrence Ho said, “Our project will contribute significantly to the country’s efforts for sustainable economic growth and an increase in employment rates.”
Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades added, “Foreign direct investment constitutes a fundamental pillar towards sustainable economic growth and prosperity. Today, we are witnessing the realization of a project with extraordinary benefits for our economy, with positive impact on the country’s GDP and in tackling unemployment.” Anastasiades said the resort will create around 6,500 jobs, attract an additional 300,000 visitors to Cyprus each year and add some 700 million euros (US$828.5 million) to the economy each year.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal said the new casino resort, expected to be Europe’s biggest, will help the country rebound after a financial crisis that nearly bankrupted it five years ago. The Cyprus economy is projected to grow at around 3.5 percent annually in the next few years, the Review-Journal reported.
