Yokohama city has announced that it will run a second Request for Concept process for development of an integrated resort at Yamashita Pier due to concerns aired by operators.
The seven candidate operators to have submitted RFC documents during Yokohama’s first round were revealed by the city on Tuesday, with Japanese firm Shotoku Corporation officially named as one of the bidders.
Working alongside Rinaldo Corp and Current Corp, Shotoku is part of SRC Group which states on its website an ambition to “realize an integrated resort in Japan with its extensive experience and know-how around the world.” It had been among 12 candidates to express an initial interest in Yokohama but had not been named as one of the seven to submit an RFC.
Current Corp is also bidding to develop an IR in Nagasaki alongside Hong Kong’s Get Nice Holdings.
Galaxy Entertainment Group, Genting Singapore, Las Vegas Sands, Melco Resorts & Entertainment, Sega Sammy Holdings and Wynn Resorts have previously been named as the other six companies to have submitted RFC documents although LVS has since withdrawn from the race and Wynn has closed its Yokohama office.
The city had previously anticipated a maximum annual visitor count of 39 million as a result of IR development and an economic ripple effect at the time of construction of JPY1.6 trillion, with 119,000 jobs created.
However, these figures did not anticipate the impact of COVID so will be recalculated once the city has received the additional RFCs from operators. Yokohama said it had spoken with operators between January and July of this year to hear their concerns.
The Japan Tourism Agency announced on 9 October a new Basic Policy draft, while the application period for prefectures and their operator partners has been delayed by nine months.
In response to this, Yokohama city plans to conduct an additional RFC from now until the end of November, accepting proposals for COVID-19 countermeasures and compliance for IR operators.
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