BCN World project moves forward, but with less ambitious plan

The entertainment complex in Spain will see work begin once again in the summer of next year based on information provided by the Vice President of Catalonia Oriol Junqueras.

The Vice President stated the new project will be titled the Tourist and Recreation Complex and will not be as ambitious as previously planned. G3NewsWire reports that Junqueras stated that an investment of €2.5bn would be made in regards to the project and ten thousand jobs created in the process. The project will have only 4% of space devoted to gaming which is much less than projected.

In conversation with Yogonet, Melco said: “Melco International only made an announcement involving certain related-party transactions, with no effect on the Group’s involvement in the CRT project. Melco International remains committed to working with the government of Catalonia to bring world-class integrated resorts to the region.

As one of the three pre-approved companies selected by the Generalitat to develop the Recreation and Tourist Center (CRT) of Villa-seca and Salou, we would like to reaffirm our strong commitment towards the project. We intend to keep working together with the Catalan government and all concerned stakeholders to make this project a reality of which Tarragona and its people can be proud.

Melco International Development welcomes the Generalitat’s decision of provisionally approving the Master Zoning Plan for the CRT project (or “PDU” in Spanish). We believe this is a crucial step in the right direction and look forward to be able to submit our proposal to develop a unique, world-class leisure and entertainment center in Tarragona.”

With the final plan, there will only be two casino licenses given. The project has changed from being 1 million square meters to 750,000 and of the 750,000 square meters of space, only 30,000 square meters will be devoted to casino gaming. The remaining area will be left for hotel space, convention centers and other uses. According to Junqueras, the new project is more realistic and will be sustainable, able to integrate into the environment.

Back in February, the entertainment complex was put on ‘stand-by’ as political differences began to grow over the project while the urban planning had still not been approved. In time, the government was able to make assurances that the project would be a tourist destination first and then an agreement was able to be reached within the political parties including The Popular Unity Candidates, The Republican Left of Catalonia and the pro-Catalan independence political party.