The international organizer of the World Expo has reportedly asked Osaka officials to demand construction of MGM Resorts’ integrated resort project on Yumeshima Island be halted for around six months next year due to concerns around noise and visuals. Officials are poised to reject the request, according to local news agency Jiji Press.
The Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) is said to have requested Osaka city and prefecture to pause construction during the 2025 Osaka World Expo, which is also being held on Yumeshima adjacent to the MGM site from April to October 2025. Specifically, the BIE is reportedly concerned about equipment being visible, the noise construction work might make and potential deterioration of the surrounding land.
Jiji Press reported over the weekend that BIE Secretary General Kerkentzes and Keidanren Chairman Tokura Masakazu, who also serves as chairman of the Japan Association for the International Exposition, have raised their concerns to Governor Yoshimura Hirofumi, however the city and prefecture remain concerned that any such pause in construction could result in MGM triggering a contract clause allowing it to terminate its IR deal anytime until September 2026. The officials are said to be considering how to best respond to BIE.
As previously reported by Inside Asian Gaming, MGM began land preparatory work on the 21-hectare Yumeshima IR site late last year with the goal of preventing liquefaction and firming up the land base. Those liquefaction measures are expected to continue throughout the Osaka Expo and be completed by April 2027 at a cost of JPY25.5 billion ($173 million).
Completion and opening of the IR itself has already been pushed back by a year to 2030.
Osaka IR Corporation, the joint venture between MGM Resorts International and local partner ORIX Corporation, officially signed the Implementation Agreement for development of an Osaka IR in late September, paving the way for construction works to begin.
Once complete, the IR is projected to include 2,500 hotel rooms across three hotel brands, 730,000 square feet of MICE space and tourism facilities to showcase the best of Osaka and Japan.
