The owner of land singled out for a Wakayama IR has reportedly agreed to sell it to the local government for JPY7.6 billion should the prefecture prove successful in its planned IR bid.
The idea is that by purchasing land now, Wakayama’s future IR operator partner can re-purchase the land at a later date while avoiding any potential price fluctuations between now and then. The prefecture intends to submit a supplementary budget to the prefectural assembly in December.
Wakayama officials want to construct an IR on the manmade island of Wakayama Marina City. An operator is planned to be selected next year in a public offering with the land currently owned by a trust company delegated by the Marina City management company.
According to the prefecture, factors such as the price fluctuation for private sector transactions depending on the circumstances, and time taken for credit checks, could be a burden for any potential operator, so the hope is to make the candidate site publicly owned land. An agreement has now been reached with the Marina City management company, with the price determined by external real estate appraisers. Once purchased, it will be sold to the IR operator for the same price, but if not successful in the bid, will not be sold.
