Osaka changes plans to open IR before 2025 World Expo

Grand opening has been pushed back a year due to Coronavirus.

Japan.- Osaka has changed its plans to open an integrated resort ahead of the 2025 World Expo and will postpone it to 2026. The main reason for the delay is restrictions on international travel due to the impact of Covid-19.

“People currently cannot travel between Japan and the United States. Opening before the World Expo was already going to be a tough climb, but with movement now stopped, we can’t avoid the conclusion that there isn’t enough time,” Osaka Mayor, Ichiro Matsui, explained.

The restrictions have a big impact on Osaka’s IR plans as its the only current operator candidate is US-based MGM Resorts. 

The MGM-Orix consortium is the sole qualified applicant for the Osaka Yumeshima integrated resort, according to the Osaka Prefectural Government, after the withdrawal of Galaxy Entertainment Group and Genting Singapore.

Osaka expected to make a final decision on its operator partner in June but this has now been pushed back to September

The handover of the land on Yumeshima, where the IR will be built, was supposed to happen in the Autumn of 2021 but is now expected to take place in the Spring of 2022.