Austrian casino operator Casinos Austria International (CAI) is set to become the first international company to submit a business concept for an integrated resort in Nagasaki.
Casinos Austria CEO Christoph Zurucker-Burda made the announcement at the weekend, as reported by Nagasaki Shimbun, having earlier visited the prefecture’s candidate site at Huis Ten Bosch.
“Nagasaki is ideal for our goal of entering the market through a unique region,” Zurucker-Burda said. “We envision an IR with a variety of elements including cultural, music and medical.” The company’s final investment budget is still in the planning stages.
Nagasaki will launch its RFC on 1 November. After hearing plans from each of the IR operators, the public offering will officially begin in 2020, narrowing down to a single operator by autumn.
CAI is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Casinos Austria, of which the Austrian government is the largest shareholder with 34%.
At a seminar held by Nagasaki prefecture in June, president of the company’s Japanese entity, Akio Hayashi, gave a presentation with a focus on a purely Japanese-style facility and medical mall.