Committee report due next year
Officials in Queensland, Australia are looking at a number of possible locations for an integrated resort, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. A specially appointed group is reportedly meeting with local governments, gaming operators and property developers to discuss their options; Cairns, Townsville, Mackay, Rockhampton and the Gold Coast are among the regions being considered.
Earlier this year, Hong Kong billionaire Tony Fung announced he was cancelling plans to include a casino in his $8 billion Aquis resort in Yorkeys Knob in Cairns. Fung blamed the government, which delayed licensure of the gaming component.
Members of the research committee will include Treasury and Office of Liquor and Gaming Regulation officials who will “outline the state’s laws and policies and also the strict probity requirements,” a spokeswoman for State Development Minister Anthony Lynham told the Herald.
“We are only interested in developments that will draw international tourists to Queensland and create jobs,” Lynham said. Moreover, any new integrated resort development in regional Queensland would need to include significant capital investment and begin construction within 18 months of approval. It must be located in or near a major center with no fewer than 150,000 people, within a 70km (43-mile) radius from the city center. It would also need to be near an international airport and have well-established transport networks and significant existing tourism infrastructure.
On November 3, Lynham told parliament “as many as 12 different groups over the past 18 months have declared an interest” in the area. The research committee will present its finding to the Queensland government in 2017. At that point, a proposal presumably could be put out to tender.
