In a recent filing to the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX), Australian operator Star Entertainment announced that the opening of its long-awaited, multibillion-dollar Queen’s Wharf Brisbane development has been pushed back to early 2024, most likely April.
The project, which was originally slated to open later this year, has somewhat ballooned in price since construction began, much like a number of other gaming developments around the world.
Original estimates for the integrated resort (IR) section of the mixed-use development were set at US$1.7 billion, but those costs have already risen to approximately $1.9 billion thanks to Covid-related impacts, supply chain hiccups and rising material costs—the company said in the filing that Queen’s Wharf has not avoided “the types of pressures that other major infrastructure projects across Australia have encountered.”
Star CEO and Managing Director Robbie Cooke said in a statement that the company is “disappointed” to delay the opening, but with eight years already invested, what’s a few more months?
Cooke vowed that Queen’s Wharf “ will be worth the wait, “ and said the development is “a game-changer for a city that continues to attract the eyes of the world as we charge towards the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.”
A good portion of the construction for the project has already been completed, such as most of the dining and gaming spaces. The much-anticipated Sky Deck feature, which will be one of the highlights of the property, is still under construction, and will eventually connect all of the towers within the complex, according to the company.
Once finished, the deck will offer 360-degree views from an open-air rooftop that sits 300-plus feet above the Brisbane River, and will have a capacity of 1,500.
Overall, the development is a 50-50 joint venture between Star and its two Hong Kong-based partners, Far East Consortium and Chow Tai Fook Enterprises. Together, the trio is building the project through a company called Destination Brisbane Consortium.
Although Queen’s Wharf is expected to make a huge splash in the Australian market once opened, Star is certainly sitting on a hot seat at the moment, to the extent that it was forced to raise over $500 million in equity to keep itself afloat for the time being while it sorts through numerous regulatory mishaps.
Thanks to a combination of penalties and proposed tax increases set to take effect in New South Wales (NSW), Star predicted in March that it may lose $1 billion or more for the year.
Then in April, Star said it would have to lay off at least 500 staff and freeze employee benefits in efforts to drastically reduce its costs, citing a “rapid deterioration in operating conditions.”
Star’s casinos in NSW and Queensland are currently under the supervision of state-appointed “special managers,” who are watching over the operator’s ongoing remediation efforts.
