By Ben Blaschke
Melco International Development Limited’s Cyprus resort will be called City of Dreams Mediterranean, the company has revealed.
Unveiling finalized plans at a special presentation on Tuesday, Melco announced that the US$650 million resort will be built in a Mediterranean style and tailored to fit Cyprus’ “natural environment and landscape.” The joint venture project with local firm Cyprus Phassouri Ltd (CPZ) – of which Melco holds a 75% stake – will be Europe’s biggest integrated casino resort, with 136 gaming tables and 1,200 gaming machines plus a five-star hotel with 500 hotel rooms, 11 restaurants and cafeterias, a wellness center, sports center, extensive pool area, high-end retail area, an outdoor amphitheater and 9,600 square meters of MICE space.
Speaking at the ceremony, Melco Chairman and CEO Lawrence Ho said, “I am proud that the Cypriot government has entrusted Melco and CNS to build Cyprus’ first integrated resort which will place Cyprus on the world tourism map and attract visitors not just from the surrounding region but also from the whole of Europe and around the world. In the same way as we delivered in Macau and the Philippines, we build with local partners, invest in extraordinary world-first architecture and design, create sophisticated entertainment experiences and embed state-of-the-art technology into everything we do.”
As part of Melco’s agreement with the Cyprian government, a temporary casino will operate in Limassol until the official launch of City of Dreams Mediterranean in 2021, while four satellite casinos will also become operational in 2018 in Nicosia, Larnaca, free Famagusta and Paphos.
City of Dreams Mediterranean is expected to contribute around €700 million (US$840 million) a year to the local economy once open, equal to 4% of the country’s annual GDP. It was claimed at Tuesday’s presentation, held at the Presidential Palace, that City of Dreams Mediterranean will attract an additional 300,000 tourists each year and offer around 4,000 local job opportunities during the construction phase and 2,500 permanent jobs once fully operational.
“I can assure you that we consider Melco Group as an important contributor to our economy and as a real partner of the Republic of Cyprus in further enhancing and enriching our tourist product for the benefit of the country and its people,” said the country’s President Nicos Anastasiades.
