Both Osaka and Nagasaki prefectures submitted their area development plans for IR bids to the national government on Tuesday, IAG has learned.
The submission of the two final bids, two days ahead of the government’s final 28 April deadline, comes after a third potential bidder, Wakayama, essentially withdrew from the bidding process last week when its area development plan was rejected by the prefectural assembly. This means Japan will only approve a maximum of two IRs under its first round rather than the three allowed by law.
Osaka’s bid is in partnership with Osaka IR, a special purpose company (SPC) led by MGM Resorts International and local firm ORIX Corp. The area development plan stipulates the Osaka IR is to open on Yumeshima Island by the autumn or winter of 2029. Annual visitors are estimated at 20 million with annual sales of JPY 520 billion (US$4.1 billion) and annual economic ripple effects of JPY 1.14 trillion (US$9.0 billion). Other consortium members include Kansai Electric Power, Panasonic, Kintetsu Group Holdings and NTT West. Other investors include Obayashi, Takenaka Corporation, Taisei Corporation, Osaka Gas, JR West and JTB.
Nagasaki’s bid is for an IR alongside Dutch-inspired theme park Huis Ten Bosch, located in Sasebo city, with SPC Kyushu Resorts led by Casinos Austria International Japan as operator. The aim is to open in autumn 2027. Annual sales in the fifth year after opening are estimated to reach JPY 272 billion (US$2.1 billion) with an estimated 6.73 million annual visitors and economic ripple effect of JPY 323 billion (US$2.5 billion).
