Takashi Oya, president of Kyushu Resorts, says the firm will not seek an appeal of the Japanese government’s decision to reject its plan for an integrated resort (IR) in Nagasaki Prefecture.
The IR development and management company joined with Casinos Austria International (CAI) in a bid to win an IR license in the prefecture. That plan was rejected at the national level last year.
According to GGRAsia, Oya told Nagasaki’s prefectural assembly, “We are not going to make an administrative appeal request to have the plan examined again, because there should be more demerits than merits.” But he seemed to put the blame for the proposal’s downfall on local and central government officials.
“We still believe that the Nagasaki IR District Development Plan deserves approval,“ he said. “The reasons for the non-approval are the unclearness of those criteria given by the (national) government as to fundraising certainty and implementation capability and the deviation in understanding that topic between Nagasaki and the national authorities.”
On Dec. 27, the prefecture learned that the central government had officially nixed its IR development plan due to concerns about planned financing and potential investors. The proposal included a resort adjacent to Huis Ten Bosch, a Dutch-themed resort in Sasebo City, with an initial investment of JPY438.3 billion (more than $3 billion), with 60 percent to be covered by bank loans. Concerns grew after the March 2023 collapse of Swiss financial giant Credit Suisse, which had been involved in the fundraising.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism said it was troubled by the lack of “objective materials supporting the certainty of financing” for the IR, and released a report stating, “We cannot eliminate the concern that the parties scheduled to invest/finance may continue to change in the future.”
Panelists were also skeptical about the investors’ operational ability, noting that only CAI, which led the consortium, had experience in the industry, and was expected to play a minor role in the project.
“Although CAI has a track record and know-how in developing and operating casino facilities, we cannot fully confirm (the rest of the consortium’s) track record in installing and operating IRs,” the panel wrote. “Furthermore, as (CAI’s) investment ratio is extremely small and the level of commitment is not sufficient, it is difficult to say that CAI’s capital involvement in the IR business is sufficient.”
The deadline to appeal is March 27.
