Overseas groups win mega-casino bids

TWO Asian-backed groups have beaten local rivals to be given the green light to push ahead with plans to build mega-casino resorts in Queensland.

TWO Asian-backed groups have beaten local rivals, including a consortium fronted by Greg Norman, to be given the green light to push ahead with plans to build mega-casino resorts on opposite ends of the Queensland coast.

The Newman government has selected Hong Kong billionaire Tony Fung and the ASF Consortium, made up of an ASX-listed company and Chinese companies, out of seven bidders for two regional “integrated casino resort’’ licences.

The proposals — Mr Fung’s $8.15 billion Aquis casino resort at Yorkeys Knob, north of Cairns and ASF’s $7.5bn Broadwater Marine project, on the northern end of the Gold Coast — could be under construction by early next year.

The two projects are the only remaining bidders for the two lic­ences, after the remaining proponents, including Mr Norman’s proposal for a casino resort on Great Keppel Island, were ruled out by the Queensland government.

Deputy Premier Jeff Seeney said Aquis and ASF had government backing for the casino lic­ences and now needed to pass the final hurdles in receiving environmental, planning and probity approvals. Aquis is midway through its environmental assessment with the state government, although the plans for its oceanfront resort — which also sits on a floodplain — are likely to trigger commonwealth involvement, given the proximity of the project to the Great Barrier Reef.

The ASF project is understood to be less certain, and has yet to submit its environmental impact statement amid growing local opposition to the plan, which would also include a cruise ship terminal.

The two proposals will be the most expensive non-resource sector projects in Australia by far.

A third “integrated casino resort’’ has been put up for tender for the proposed Queen’s Wharf in Brisbane’s CBD as part of the Newman government’s plans to boost tourism and construction.

It has yet to announce a shortlist for the Brisbane licence, which has attracted 12 bidders including James Packer’s Crown Resorts, Echo Entertainment and the Chinese state-owned Greenland Holdings Group.

Mr Seeney said that Aquis and ASF were selected because they would best fit the government’s plans to attract tourists to Australia.

“The Queensland government has identified that these projects have the greatest capacity to deliver the requirements for an integrated resort development in the regions, particularly the potential to attract interstate and international tourists as both these centres have international airports,” he said.

“These projects have the potential to create thousands of new jobs in these two key tourism centres, with Aquis indicating its project could create more than 3700 construction jobs and more than 10,000 ongoing operational jobs.

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

The decision comes just a few weeks after the ASF plan survived an 11th-hour bid by some Gold Coast councillors to sink the project. After a vote of nine to six to support the plan, the council agreed to launch new community consultation over the site of the ship terminal on the Gold Coast “spit’’ — state-owned land that has largely been spared development.

There is also local opposition to the Aquis resort, which will be constructed over almost a decade.

Yorkeys Knob residents’ association spokeswoman Pam Bigelow said she was outraged by the latest approval.