Osaka City Council Votes Against IR Referendum

Authorities in Osaka have finally refused to call for a public referendum on whether or not to allow proposals for an integrated resort (IR) in the city. The request for a referendum was made by the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), but 58 of the 83-seat council voted against the draft ordinance.

Osaka City Council and Osaka Prefecture are now due to vote on the prefecture’s draft District Development Plan, which includes an integrated resort, at their regular meetings which will run until late March.

Osaka’s draft plan to open a casino resort in the metropolis has set a target opening date of fall or winter 2029. The Osaka government plans to submit its proposal to the national government in April.

The prefecture’s operator partner, the MGM-Orix consortium has proposed to invest US$9.1bn in the planned IR proposed for an artificial island, named Dream Island, in Osaka Bay. According to the plan, the city will need to assume approximately US$692m for soil improvement measures, including site purification and soil liquefaction control measures.