Osaka prefecture and Osaka city have adjusted the timing of the handover of the planned site for an integrated resort, Yumeshima Island, in order to give the chosen operator an extra six months of development, allowing for an IR to open in time for the 2025 World Expo.
According to NHK, Osaka prefecture/city will start recruiting an operator in December with Japan’s implementation policies to follow soon after.
The original timing of handover of the construction site to the operator in the implementation policy was sometime after April 2022, but this has been moved up six months.
It had been observed that with the 3-year construction period starting in 2022, there was a possibility that IR facilities would not be ready in time. For that reason, Osaka wants to bring forward the construction period to ensure there is enough time for construction and that the facilities will be ready before the 2025 Expo.