The head of the international organization overseeing the 2025 Osaka Expo scheduled for next year on the island of Yumeishima has yet to address concerns about noise and other environmental impacts from nearby MGM Osaka Integrated Resort (IR) construction sites, Japanese media reported.
The same newspaper story on Sunday quoted an unnamed source from the casino project development team as saying the resort timetable had been public information for some time. The source added that a six-month suspension of construction for the 2025 expo could actually lead to longer delays as well as pushing back on the IR completion date target and adding to costs. The plan is now set to begin in 2030 and is already priced at 1.27 trillion yen (currently $8.82 billion).
The Sankei Shimbun reported on the 1st that Dimitri Kerkenchez, secretary-general of the International Exposition Organization (BIE), talked about the negative impact of the construction of MGM Osaka, a casino complex. The Expo 2025 event will be held in Tokyo, Japan, for 184 days from April 13 to October 13 next year (file photo).
“We were first told in June 2024 that the [MGM Osaka] IR works are scheduled to start in April 2025,” Mr Kerkentz was quoted as saying in a report on Sunday, according to information reviewed by GGRA’s Japan correspondent. 에볼루션 바카라사이트
Kerkentzes added: “The impacts include dust, noise, landscape disturbance and a tense logistics network.”
He also noted, “Since 2019, the BIE, the 2025 World Exposition Association and the Osaka government have discussed the mutual influence between the fair and IR.”
The BIE secretary general was also quoted as saying, “They promised us that they would fully understand our concerns and that IR construction would never have a negative impact on the Expo.”
“Again, it is essential that we coordinate effectively among ourselves so that IR construction does not negatively impact the smooth operation of the Expo,” Mr. Kerkentzes said.
In early August, the BIE was among several voices calling for a halt to construction work on the MGM Osaka project during the expo, several local Japanese media reported at the time.
MGM Osaka is a project between MGM Resorts International, Orix Inc. of Japan, and a number of local investors. The company developing the project is Osaka IRKK.
Shortly after the initial report, local TV news service Kansai TV cited an unnamed Osaka IRKKK source as saying the developer was “surprised” and “concerned” about the pause request, and also cited the possibility of a cost if there was a pause during Expo 2025.
The Sankei Shimbun’s Sunday report quoted Mr Kerkenchez as saying: “Since 2019, the BIE, the 2025 World Exposition Association and the Osaka government have been talking about the mutual influence between Expo and IR.”
The BIE secretary general added: “They promised us that they would fully understand our concerns and that IR construction would never have a negative impact on the Expo.”
“Again, it is essential that we coordinate effectively among ourselves so that IR construction does not negatively impact the smooth operation of the Expo,” Mr. Kerkentzes said.
During MGM Resorts’ second-quarter earnings call on July 31, Bill Hornbuckle, CEO and President, said the pile-up at the MGM Osaka site is expected to begin “by May or June” in 2025, with the project’s target date still “in the mid-2030s.”