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澳大利亚——凯恩斯赌场“奇迹”通过了第一批批准

Chinese tycoon Tony Fung’s attempts to develop a US$ 3.75bn casino and resort project in Cairns, close to Australia’s Great Barrier Reef in Queensland, has hurdled its first set of approvals.

该提案位于凯恩斯以北 13 公里处，名为 Aquis Resort，旨在向中国游客推销自己，并自称比墨尔本 James Packer 的皇冠赌场还要大。它希望在一个度假村运营 750 张赌台和 1,500 个老虎机，如果获得批准，该度假村将包括 3,750 家拥有 25,000 间客房的酒店、世界上最大的水族馆之一、一个 1,200 个座位的体育场、135 套公寓和 13 栋别墅、高端零售购物中心、剧院、18 公顷的礁湖、XNUMX 洞高尔夫球场、会议和展览中心。

Cairns Regional Council has confirmed that, as advised by the Office of the Coordinator-General, Department of State Development, Infrastructure and Planning, the proposed Aquis Resort has been accepted as a Coordinated Project.

The council stated: “A draft Terms of Reference will now be prepared by the State in the coming weeks outlining the requirements for an Environmental Impact Statement. The draft Terms of Reference will then go through a public notification process. Once an Environmental Impact Statement has been prepared it will also be made available for the public comment. Following this process, the State will determine whether a future development application can be approved and if so, what conditions will need to be imposed on a development approval.”

香港新鸿基集团创始人之一的亿万富翁冯先生表示，这将“让昆士兰州有机会在日益重要的中国旅游市场上抵御南部和地区竞争对手”。

他表示：“基于我通过家族参与香港/中国金融和房地产市场而接触亚洲市场的业务，我饶有兴趣地看到并观察到了澳门的快速和指数级增长。毫无疑问，澳门的增长是由新型大型综合度假村推动的。该模式正在被昆士兰州亚太地区的旅游业竞争对手迅速采用和接受。”

“With over 15 years’ experience investing in North Queensland, I have recognised the unique suitability of the Cairns region to develop an integrated resort, based upon the Macau model, but presented differently via a design and marketing linkage to North Queensland and the Great Barrier Reef,” he added. “Queensland has an opportunity with this proposal to join other countries in our region that are developing large-scale integrated resorts which drive local tourism, employment and associated economic growth. The Aquis proposal is unique, in Asian integrated resort terms, by associating its appeal to the unique natural environment and region it is located in. Aquis will be, by its very design and market position, a high profile project to drive Asian tourism awareness of North Queensland and the Great Barrier Reef. Aquis, the man-made wonder, and the Great Barrier Reef, your incredibly beautiful wonder of the world, will ensure, in perpetuity, Queensland receives more than its fair share of inbound tourism from China. Aquis gives Queensland an opportunity to fend of its southern and regional competitors for the increasingly important Chinese tourism market.

The company behind the project added: “North Queensland is missing the man-made wonder of the world, which is presented in Aquis. Facilities of the like of Aquis Resort at The Great Barrier Reef don’t only attract the Chinese mass-market middle-class, but also the big-spending, high-value, ever-expanding Chinese upper-class. The existing operator’s exclusive casino licence expired years ago. When its license was granted, it was clearly foreshadowed to them and the broader community that a time would come when more than one casino operator in North Queensland would be appropriate. That time is now. A lack of competition in any industry results in minimal capital investment and innovation for the community’s benefit. Aquis does not seek a monopoly or even a duopoly and encourages competition between casino operators, which will lead to more jobs and investment in the industry.”