Construction of casino resort in Osaka meets delays due to 2025 expo

A planned casino resort in Osaka, close to the city’s exposition site, has started to take shape. However, difficulties that are delaying the construction of foreign pavilions for the 2025 expo are masking this tremendous development.

The development is underway on Yumeshima, an artificial island located in Osaka Bay, with less than 500 days remaining until the exhibition’s scheduled April 13, 2025, inauguration. Concerns about the timing of the exhibition and the casino resort are raised by the fact that this project began at a time when costs are on the rise and there is a labor shortage.

In order to mitigate liquefaction and strengthen the foundation where the casino facilities would be constructed, prefectural and municipal authorities announced on Monday that the first concrete pour had begun in a 21-hectare area on Yumeshima. The Osaka casino resort project, a joint venture between MGM Resorts International and Orix of Japan, consists of a casino, hotels, retail spaces, and conference centers.

At an estimated cost of $25.5 billion ($173.4 million), land liquefaction works are expected to be finished by the end of the fiscal year that starts in April 2027. According to Osaka Governor Hirofumi Yoshimura, full-scale construction of the resort would start in the spring of the following year, with completion planned for the summer of 2030 and an autumn opening.

The resort was originally supposed to be built in 2029, but obstacles in getting central government approval necessitated a change of direction. Concerns about rising costs, which are being connected to an increase in the cost of imported construction materials, are a persistent concern for both the exhibition and casino projects. While the entire cost of the casino project climbed from 1.08 trillion to 1.27 trillion, the cost of erecting the exhibition jumped from 125 billion to 235 billion.

The MGM-Orix joint venture will cover the extra costs of the casino project, with the exception of the $25.5 billion in land-related development, which will be covered by the city of Osaka. After construction is finished, the resort should bring in $520 billion a year, mostly from the casino. A September agreement has a clause that permits cancellation in the event that costs increase, with the operator of the casino resort bearing the risk of fluctuating demand.

The six-month exhibition, scheduled to take place from April 13 to October 13, 2025, is estimated to draw around 28.2 million visitors, including 3.5 million from outside the country. Much of the construction, which will include liquefaction countermeasures, will coincide with this event.

Original story by: Japan Times