Osaka gives the go light for Japan's integrated resort project
MGM Resorts and Orix Corporation are one step closer to building an integrated casino resort in Osaka, Japan, now that they have received final approval for the project.
The Osaka IR Corporation, a joint venture between MGM and Orix Corporation, got the green light for its certification. The "Specified Integrated Resort Facilities Area Development Plan" for the Osaka Integrated Resort (IR) was given out by Osaka Prefecture and Osaka City.
The proposal was already approved by Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism in April. The new accreditation validates the resort's real location and intentions for growth. It will be developed in Osaka's Yumeshima.
The first resort in Japan that has everything in one place
If all goes as planned, the IR will be Japan's first land-based casino. MGM and Orix argue that it will help Osaka and the Japanese economy thrive and develop in a way that lasts.
MGM Resorts president and CEO Bill Hornbuckle said, "This is a big day for our company because we are officially done with the certification process and can now focus on working with Orix to build a world-class integrated resort in Osaka."
"We are still really devoted to this initiative. We can't wait to deliver the best gaming, entertainment, culinary, and shopping experiences to Japan and Osaka.
"Our goal is to take MGM's "wow" DNA from Las Vegas to Osaka and build a resort that the community will be very proud of."
The long route to the Osaka casino
The project is the result of years of hard work. The Japanese Diet parliament passed a law in 2018 that made it possible to build these kinds of facilities. After a lot of delays, the law finally went into force in July 2021.
MGM got the job to build the facility. It will be collaborating with the Japanese company Orix, which it started a collaboration with two years ago.
The whole thing will cost about JPY1.8 trillion (£9.88 billion/€11.42 billion/$2.09 billion). Yumeshima, a manmade island near Osaka that will host the World Expo in 2025, will be the site of the IR. In 2014, Governor Ichirō Matsui of Osaka Prefecture suggested the land as a viable place for IR development.
There is no official date for when it will open, although Japanese news reports say it won't be ready until 2030.
