Melco asked to run casino in Barcelona

The project is being organised via a vehicle called Veremonte. Las Vegas Sands Corp, the parent company of Macau-based Sands China, is developing a mega-casino project in Madrid. Barcelona had also been one of the locations considered.

Melco said in its statement to Business Daily: “ Melco International Development Limited is happy to be invited by Veremonte to take part in the Barcelona World project as casino operator. In the coming months, we shall continue to work with Veremonte on the definitive casino management agreement and shall make announcement when the agreement is signed.”

According to media reports, BCN World will start with a single resort, with 1,100 hotel beds, a casino and a theatre. The project should be operation by 2016.

BCN World would start with a single resort called Barcelona Dream and occupying 300,000 square metres (3.2 million sq. feet), with 1,100 hotel beds, a casino and a theatre, it was suggested during the press event. It will take two years to build and could be operational by 2016 according to the conference, which was attended by Catalonia’s minister of economy and knowledge, Andreu Mas-Colell.

It was said the cost of the first phase – expressed in local currency as 766 million euros – would be split equally between bank debt and equity. It wasn’t said in what proportion the debt-equity deal would be shared by the partners.

According to the announcement, the long-term aim is to have six resorts in total – in likelihood with other investors participating – with six different categories of hotels, a total of 12,000 rooms, six casinos and shopping areas with up to 450 brands.