Operatornieuws

Spain – Hard Rock, Melco and Peralada get extension for BCN submissions

The Department of Economy for the government of Catalonia has granted the companies interested in opening casinos at the upcoming BCN World in Barcelona (now known as the Tourist and Recreation Complex) another three months in order to submit their proposals.

Hard Rock, Melco and Peralada the three companies interested in the leisure and entertainment complex have deposited a bond of €2.5m each committing to buy land where the hotels, casinos and shopping areas will be built. Work was scheduled to begin this summer but the new extensions grants the operators until June 30th to submit their proposals.

The delay was officially made public via The Government of Catalonia (Generalitat de Catalunya) Diario Oficial (Government Gazette) last Friday. However, Mayor of Salou, Pere Granados assured press that despite the delay that the project “is still alive.” The Mayor went onto to say that: “As it is an extension requested by the operators themselves, it must be interpreted that the project is still alive and that the operators’ interest is intact.”

According to the public announcement released by the government last Friday: “The uniqueness of the business model” implies a high level of “complexity” which necessitates “a gradual and staggered implementation” of the project. In the announcement the government said the the extension will allow the operators sufficient time to prepare their proposals in “a timely manner” while legal and financial requirements will all also be met.

Investors have alluded to the complex technical standards as laid down by the government as part of the reason for why they have needed more time. At the end of December The Urban-Development Master Plan (PDU) for the Tourist and Recreation Complex were approved. Operators Hard Rock, Melco and Peralada were given three months in which to present their proposals. Both Melco and Hard Rock are competing to operate a casino each while the Peralada Group in partnership with the Genting Group are also competing to be the sole operator and would run a single large scale casino in the resort.

De bouw van het toeristen- en recreatiecomplex zal tijdens de bouw tussen de 9,000 en 13,000 directe banen genereren, die over een periode van ongeveer zes jaar geleidelijk zullen worden ingevoerd, blijkt uit een onderzoek van de Faculteit Geografie en Toerisme van de Universitat Rovira i Virgili. (De openbare universiteit van Tarragona). De studie stelt dat, zodra het CRT op volle capaciteit draait, het tussen de €3,900 en €5,400 miljoen per jaar zal genereren in Camp de Tarragona. Uit het onderzoek bleek ook dat de toevoeging van het nieuwe complex maar liefst 3 tot 5 miljoen bezoekers aan het gebied zou kunnen toevoegen, ongeacht of ze er overnachten. Deze bezoekers konden jaarlijks tussen de € 850 miljoen en € 1,145 miljoen uitgeven.