Clairvest Neem was the only contender for the prefecture’s request-for-proposal process, after a notice of withdrawal from Suncity Holdings Japan Co Ltd.

In a press briefing on Wednesday, Yoshinobu Nisaka, governor of Japan’s Wakayama prefecture confirmed that the government had chosen the Canadian land-based IR investment firm Clairvest Group as partner for the prefecture’s integrated resort, as reported by GGRasia.

According to the corporate materials announced on Wakayama’s website, Clairvest’s estimated initial investment sums up to US$4.3 billion (JPY470 billion).

In the proposal, an artist’s render for the integrated resort dictates 569,000 sqm for the floor area, build in Wakayama Marina City, one of ten artificial islands in Wakaura Bay. Marina City is approximately 40 minutes from Kansai International Airport and 70 minutes from Osaka by either car or bus.

The scheme has approximately 2,700 hotel rooms, a casino floor area, conference venues, exhibition areas, and tourism provisions such as those for eSports and “indoor skydiving”. Worth noting is that after a withdrawal notice from Suncity Holdings Japan Co Ltd, Clairvest was deemed the only candidate for the proposal. Wakayama prefecture has rated Clairvest’s proposal as worth 656 out of a possible 1,000 points, in contrast to the Suncity Holdings Japan Co Ltd proposal at 720 points. The Wakayama prefecture’s government approval for Clairvest makes it the first private-sector integrated resort partner to be confirmed by Japanese local government and its business proposal foresees the Wakayama IR project as launching in the “autumn of 2027”. Wakayama further stated it would apply to the national government for what it termed certification as a casino resort host area, by April 28, 2022.

SiGMA Roadshow: Next stop Germany

Join us virtually for two engaging hours bursting with insightful conference content and new business opportunities. These unique, interactive, virtual mini-conferences will take place in a different country every month. The stop of next month will be Germany, join the conversation. We’ll be covering various topics from localisation of content to regulation trends. !