Photo/Illutration An artist’s rendition of the integrated resort planned on Yumeshima island in Osaka Bay (Provided by Osaka IR KK)

OSAKA--The nation's first casino-centered integrated resort (IR), planned on a manmade island here, remains a safe bet although the opening will be pushed back a year to around autumn 2030. 

The operator’s initial investment will also rise to about 1.27 trillion yen ($8.64 billion), up about 190 billion yen from the initial estimate due to surging materials prices.

The delay in opening and the cost increase were included in a draft implementation agreement approved by the Osaka prefectural and municipal governments on Sept. 5.

“We want to realize the world’s highest-level IR in Osaka’s bay area,” Osaka Governor Hirofumi Yoshimura told reporters the same day.

The two local governments plan to conclude the agreement with the operator, Osaka IR KK, as early as the end of September after obtaining the central government's approval.

Osaka IR will then obtain a casino license from the central government, which will complete major procedures required for the integrated resort's opening.

The IR, which also includes a luxury hotel and an international conference hall, will open on Yumeshima island in Osaka Bay, the venue of the 2025 Osaka Kansai Expo.

The opening has been postponed from around autumn-winter 2029 because the central government approved the IR development plan in April, about six months later than the local governments expected.

Orix Corp. and MGM Resorts Japan LLC, Osaka IR’s major shareholders, will finance the additional initial investment.

According to the draft implementation agreement, construction of IR facilities will start around spring 2025 and end by around summer 2030.

Work to prevent ground liquefaction will begin around autumn this year.

The draft says the operator can cancel the implementation agreement if fund procurement or site development is not completed by September 2026, although the prefecture, the city and Osaka IR all rule out such a scenario.

The central government set seven conditions, including strengthening measures to deal with gambling addiction and building a good relationship with local communities, when it approved the IR development plan.

The two local governments and the operator have yet to explain how they plan to address these issues.

Yoshiyasu Yamakawa, secretary-general of a group of Osaka prefectural residents to stop the Yumeshima casino, said the draft implementation plan is putting off the challenges that must be addressed.

“We are not convinced at all,” Yamakawa said after attending a meeting where the draft was approved on Sept. 5.

A network of citizens’ groups opposed to the casino plans to demand the central government cancel its approval of the IR development plan on Sept. 6.

A written request carrying about 40,000 signatures will be submitted to Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and others.

At an explanation meeting held in August, many residents questioned the impact that the project will have on the local economy.

A lawsuit has been filed by citizens against the city government’s decision to shoulder about 79 billion yen for such measures as preventing ground liquefaction and dealing with soil contamination at the request of the operator.

(This article was compiled from reports by Shinji Hakotani, Takashi Yoshikawa and Yuichi Nobira.)

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