State development minister Jeff Sweeney said gaming licenses would be granted to planned mega resorts in Cairns, Gold Coast

CASINO licences will be granted to the developers of two new mega resorts planned for Cairns and the Gold Coast expected to create more than 10,000 jobs.

Gold Coast skyline taken from room 4901 at Oracle East, Broadbeach. Pic : Jerad Williams

CASINO licences will be granted to the developers of two new mega resorts planned for Cairns and the Gold Coast.

The government says the $8.15 billion Aquis project in Cairns and the proposed $7.5 billion Broadwater Marine Project on the Gold Coast have been short listed to move to the next stage of development.

State Development Minister Jeff Seeney said on Tuesday the projects would be granted gaming licences if they went ahead, and the resorts promised a huge boost for the economy.

“We promised to grow the construction and tourism sectors of the Queensland economy and today's announcement paves the way for this to happen on a scale not previously seen in our State,” Mr Seeney said in a statement.

The projects are expected to create more than 10,000 jobs each.

The government decided last year up to two gaming licences would be offered to encourage the construction of world-class integrated resorts in regional Queensland.

Mr Seeney said Aquis and the ASF Consortium were short-listed because planning was well advanced, and both Cairns and the Gold Coast had access to international airports.

Four other regional resort proposals were rejected because planning was still in the very early stages.

Mr Seeney said jobs would flow, with Aquis suggesting its project could create more than 3700 construction jobs and more than 10,000 ongoing operational jobs.

The ASF Consortium has indicated its Broadwater resort and cruise ship terminal could create 1300 construction jobs and more than 10,000 ongoing operational jobs.

Mr Seeney said both groups would now be invited to submit detailed proposals for the next phase of the assessment process.