THE application submitted by the Melco-Hard Rock Resorts Cyprus consortium, the sole bidder for an integrated resort casino, was found to comply with the competition terms and has been invited to file for a permit to proceed with the construction, the commerce ministry announced on Friday.
The ministry said that the coordinating committee, “following the evaluation of the application of the participant in the licensing process of the integrated resort casino in Cyprus, decided that the submitted proposal of the consortium ‘Melco – Hard Rock Resorts Cyprus’ meets the requirements”.
“Therefore, the consortium has been invited by the coordinating committee to submit an application for licensing, under which the due diligence check will be carried out as provided by the documents of the invitation and the law. Subject to the successful completion of the aforementioned control, the permit will be issued,” the ministry said.
The Melco-Hard Rock consortium had submitted the only final bid in the second leg of the government’s tender invitation for an integrated resort casino. The consortium plans to build the proposed casino in Limassol.
The first stage of the government’s tenders process attracted eight expressions of interest, of whom three were short-listed, with the Melco-Hard Rock consortium remaining the sole contender after the withdrawal of two. The other short-listed bidders – Cambodian Nagacorp and Bloomberry of the Philippines – withdrew days before the deadline.
The casino licence will allow the operation of an integrated casino resort in Cyprus for 30 years, as a monopoly for the first 15, as well as a satellite casino and three slot-machine parlours elsewhere in the country.
Undersecretary to the President Constantinos Petrides had said after the final bid was filed that construction work by the chosen investor is expected to start in the first quarter of 2017.
He had said that among the benefits were a capital investment of over €500m, the creation of thousands of jobs, and the enrichment of the country’s tourist product.
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