Inside Asian Gaming

IAG SEP 2021年9月 亞博匯 48 JAPAN T he MGM Resorts International and ORIX Group consortium, the sole applicant to develop an integrated resort (IR) in Osaka, submitted a proposal in July comprising a JPY 1 trillion investment. The plan states the earliest opening date for its IR would be 2028. The Osaka IR candidate site is Yumeshima, a 390-hectare reclaimed island alongside Osaka Port. Yumeshima is a man-made island, reclaimed to serve as a final disposal site for trash, and also happens to be the site for the Osaka Kansai Japan Expo 2025. In the Technoport Osaka plan devised in 1988, the three reclaimed islands adjacent to Osaka Port – Sakishima, Maishima and Yumeshima – were earmarked as Osaka’s new “downtown”, equipped with the latest technology, international trade and communications functions, and a daytime population of 200,000 people between them. The aim for Yumeshima was 60,000 residents and 45,000 daily commuters. The concept called for construction of Asia Trade Center and World Trade Center buildings and sizeable investments were made for infrastructure. However, with the economic slump after the bubble burst, the number of people planning to move into the buildings, dropped, and there were no buyers for the developed land. Osaka then put together a bid to host the 2008 Olympics. The plan was for the main venues and arenas to be erected on Maishima and Sakishima