Wakayama prefecture announced on 21 July that the consortium of Clairvest Neem Ventures Co Ltd and Clairvest Group Inc is now officially its priority candidate for the prefecture’s IR bid.
Having completed the vetting and research process, the prefecture stated, “Wakayama prefecture is proceeding with the recruitment and selection procedure for a private operator to implement an integrated resort at Wakayama Marina City.
“On 2 June 2021 we selected a priority candidate and based on the IR Development Act Article 8, discussions were conducted with Wakayama City and Wakayama Prefectural Public Safety Commission. The priority candidate was selected based on these negotiations between the city and the prefectural public safety committee and then announced.”
In May, the only other candidate to develop an integrated resort in Wakayama, Hong Kong’s Suncity Group, announced it was withdrawing due to economic uncertainties brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving Clairvest as the lone participant in the recruitment process.
Of the ongoing process, the prefecture said, “We will create an area development plan in conjunction with the priority candidate. Along with requesting further refinements to the proposals and enhancing the project implementation plan, we will seek to build an All-Wakayama Plan in which businesses in the prefecture can participate widely in enhancing the operation plan to ensure that there is contribution through development of the local economy and local employment.
“Moreover, we will create an excellent Area Development Plan for an IR that will greatly contribute to the region’s development and make a contribution to the country’s tourism strategy for the application to be made to the central government by the deadline of 28 April 2022.”
According to information published previously, Clairvest’s IR concept is based on a theme of “land of wood and a land of water” with nature at its core. The total floor area of the facility will be about 569,000 square meters, of which a casino facility will cover around 38,000 square meters. It will also offer 2,700 rooms and an international exhibition hall with a large conference hall that can accommodate 3,000 people.
Clairvest has proposed an investment of JPY470 billion (US$4.3 billion) versus the JPY279.9 billion (US$2.6 billion) suggested by Wakayama under its fundamental concept.
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