Nagasaki Governor Hodo Nakamura has promised to listen to the concerns of the prefecture’s potential IR operator partners in progressing its bid to develop an integrated resort following news that the national submissions period had been delayed by nine months.
Originally scheduled to take place from 4 January to 30 July 2021, the Japan Tourism Agency announced last week that it was postponing the period in which local governments and their partners can submit an application until 1 October 2021 to 28 April 2022. A new Basic Policy draft has also been released, adding in measures related to infectious disease control, problem gambling and how government officials can interact with operators during negotiations.
In response, Nagasaki Governor Nakamura – who had already delayed the prefecture’s RFP process due to uncertainty around central government timelines, said Monday he would now adjust procedures to match the new information while continuing discussions with operators.
“Nagasaki Prefecture will follow the guidance of these important policies as we proceed towards our IR development plan submission, and we will continue to also consider the perspective of IR operators as we move forward with our operator RFP and selection procedure,” he said.
Huis Ten Bosch in Sasebo City, Nagasaki and its adjacent land have been designated as the candidate site for an IR, which will rely on an All Kyushu bid including Okinawa and Yamaguchi prefectures.
Casinos Austria International, Oshidori International Holdings, and Current Corp have all submitted concepts and indicated their intention to participate in the recruitment process.
Source: https://www.asgam.com/index.php/2020/10/13/nagasaki-to-discuss-new-japan-ir-timeline-with-operators/